Best Insurance Brokers in Nelson
We assessed 8 insurance brokers in Nelson and ranked the top 5 on public rating quality, review volume and how recent the reviews are. No business can pay for a place in these rankings. Last updated 22 September 2026. How we rank →
Before you hire
Insurance brokers and advisers access multiple insurers and can often find better business or personal cover at lower cost than going direct. Ask how many insurers they work with, how they are remunerated (and by whom), and what their process is when you need to make a claim.
Top 5 Insurance Brokers in Nelson
The top 5 insurance brokers in Nelson are #1 Rothbury Insurance Brokers Nelson, #2 Ogilvie Financial Solutions, #3 Waimea Insurance Brokers, #4 Tasman Insurance Brokers, and #5 Preferential, ranked by Top5 score. Scroll for our take on each, plus what to ask before you choose.
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1
Rothbury Insurance Brokers Nelson
★ 4.9 40 reviews Top5 Score 1465★ 36 4★ 3 3★ 1Rothbury Insurance Brokers Nelson covers home, vehicle, business, and specialist 4WD insurance, and brokers like Carol and Anna are known for staying in touch through claims rather than leaving clients to follow up themselves. After major weather events, Carol has reached out to clients unprompted to check whether they need to make a claim, a level of initiative most insurers do not offer.
location_on Level 1/90 Collingwood Street, Nelson
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2
Ogilvie Financial Solutions Ltd
★ 4.9 16 reviews Top5 Score 1345★ 15 4★ 1Ogilvie Financial Solutions takes clients through personal insurance, income protection, health cover, and group staff schemes, finding a mix that fits both their situation and their budget. Peter works through options face to face, presenting multiple products with clear explanations of the trade-offs, so clients leave understanding exactly what they have and why.
location_on 73 Daelyn Drive, Richmond
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3
Waimea Insurance Brokers
★ 5.0 14 reviews Top5 Score 1335★ 14Waimea Insurance Brokers places personal, business, and hard-to-cover property insurance, including boarding houses and storm-damaged properties that other brokers struggle to place. Paul translates insurance language into plain terms, gives advice without pushing unnecessary cover, and turns around quotes and policy documents quickly so clients are not left waiting.
location_on 32 Talbot Street, Richmond
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4
Tasman Insurance Brokers
★ 5.0 11 reviews Top5 Score 1305★ 11Tasman Insurance Brokers gets clients across personal and business insurance, including cyber coverage, by mapping specific risks to cover levels without pushing unnecessary spend. Karen spends significant time walking through options one to one, adapting the pace and depth of explanation to each client, including those who find insurance complex or overwhelming.
location_on 299b Queen Street, Richmond
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5
Preferential Ltd
★ 5.0 9 reviews Top5 Score 1285★ 9Preferential covers life, income protection, critical illness, health, and ACC insurance, reviewing existing policies to cut premiums where possible without reducing cover. When claims arise, Siby and the team move quickly, staying on top of the process so clients are not left to chase things through on their own.
location_on 257A Queen Street, Richmond
Before you choose an insurance broker in Nelson
Drawn from 87 customer reviews collected for this page. The first answer is what it costs.
What does an insurance broker cost, and who pays? expand_more
In New Zealand, brokers are paid by insurers through commissions, not directly by you as the client. Commission rates run from 10% to 30% of your annual premium depending on the type of cover.
Some brokers charge a flat fee or hourly rate for complex commercial work, and this must be disclosed upfront. Under the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 and the Financial Services Legislation Amendment Act 2019, brokers licensed through the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) must tell you how they are paid before giving advice, so ask for the specific percentage or dollar figure.
Does the broker compare policies from all insurers, or just a panel they work with? expand_more
Most New Zealand brokers work from a panel of selected insurers rather than the whole market, and panel sizes range from as few as three or four insurers to fifteen or more. There is no minimum panel size set under the licensing rules administered by the Financial Markets Authority (FMA), so the scope of comparison varies significantly between brokers.
Reviews suggest the more effective local brokers access specialist or wholesale markets not available direct to consumers, which can matter for tricky risks like boarding houses, off-road vehicles, or storm-damaged properties. Ask any broker directly how many insurers are on their panel and whether their commission arrangements with any of them influence what they recommend to you.
What does a broker actually do when I need to make a claim? expand_more
A good broker acts as your advocate through the claims process, handling paperwork, liaising directly with the insurer, and keeping you informed at each stage rather than leaving you to manage it alone. Reviews point to brokers who proactively reached out to clients after major weather events to check whether a claim was needed, which is a meaningful difference from dealing directly with an insurer. One reviewer noted a dedicated claims adviser who managed the entire process and kept communication clear throughout an off-road vehicle claim, showing that the broker relationship extends beyond policy setup.
What are the warning signs of an insurance broker you shouldn't use? expand_more
- –A broker who takes two weeks to produce a basic home insurance quote without explanation is burning your time and may lack the market access they implied they had.
- –Poor responsiveness is a red flag: if calls go unanswered or emails are ignored before you are a client, expect the same when a claim is urgent.
- –Making changes to your policy without your consent, even to correct a historical issue, shows a disregard for your authority over your own cover.
- –A broker who becomes irritated when you ask reasonable questions about delays or process is not someone you want advocating for you with an insurer.
- –No upfront disclosure of how they are paid means they may not be meeting their legal obligations under the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013.
- –Vague answers about what is excluded from a policy leave you exposed to surprises at claim time, which defeats the purpose of using a broker.
What should you ask before taking out a policy through a broker? expand_more
- –Ask how many insurers are on their panel and whether any commission arrangement makes them more likely to recommend one insurer over another.
- –Ask them to disclose the exact commission or fee they will earn from the policy they are recommending, as they are legally required to tell you.
- –Ask what their process is when you need to make a claim: do they manage it on your behalf, or do they hand you back to the insurer.
- –Ask what is specifically excluded from the policy being recommended, including any activity-based or property-condition exclusions that could void a claim.
- –Ask how often they will review your cover and whether they will contact you proactively if your circumstances or risk profile change.
- –Confirm they hold a current licence by checking the Financial Service Providers Register (FSPR) at the Companies Office website before signing anything.
Also recommended insurance brokers in Nelson
Ranked 6 to 8 on the same public review record.
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6
Gallagher Insurance Nelson (formerly Crombie Lockwood)
★ 5.0 4 reviews Top5 Score 1185★ 4We generate summaries once a business has enough reviews for a reliable sample.
location_on 9 McGlashen Avenue, Nelson
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7
Aon Nelson
★ 4.4 5 reviews Top5 Score 1165★ 4 2★ 1We generate summaries once a business has enough reviews for a reliable sample.
location_on 5 Halifax Street, Nelson
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8
Plus4 Insurance
★ 4.0 4 reviews Top5 Score 505★ 3 1★ 1We generate summaries once a business has enough reviews for a reliable sample.
location_on 281 Trafalgar Street, Nelson
About this ranking
What the 8 insurance brokers listed above hold, at the 22 September 2026 check.
Across the 14 locations we assess insurance brokers in, the 129 businesses listed have a median rating of 5.0, and one-star reviews are 3.1% of their total.
How are the top insurance brokers in Nelson chosen? expand_more
We build this page from Google Maps results for insurance brokers in Nelson. Each one is scored on its public rating and review record. Businesses outside the area, or whose reviews describe a different line of work, are left out. Every category and city is rechecked on a rolling cycle, about every two to three months. A location with a subscribing business is rechecked every month, and the whole page updates with it. See how we rank for the full method.
What does a business subscription offer? expand_more
No business can pay for a place in these rankings. Claiming and verifying a listing is free. It adds a phone number to the card and a small trust bonus (+3 points) to its score, for confirming a real operator stands behind the listing. The owner also gets a dashboard showing how their score is made up. A paid subscription provides an enhanced card with more ways to reach the business, including a website link and a detailed profile page. It also refreshes this page monthly and adds ranking history and competitor analysis to the owner's dashboard. The subscription adds nothing to the score. Claim your listing or see what a subscription includes.
Why isn't my business listed? expand_more
We build this page from Google Maps results for insurance brokers in Nelson. The usual reasons for missing out are a Google Business category that does not match, too few reviews to score near the top, or an address outside the area we cover. Sometimes we miss a business that should be here. Check where you rank first. If you are not there and think you should be, get in touch.