Chad packed up his 2002 Mazda sedan - white - and moved from Auckland to Christchurch earlier this year, dropping the premium for his car's insurance to $33 per month.
Then he moved back to Auckland again, expecting his premium would return to his post-move price of $38 only to be quoted $72 a month.
Nothing in his circumstances had changed.
His white Mazda was still a 2002 sedan. It was still housed in a garage. He was still its primary driver (a 25-year-old male).
So why was his premium now $34 more?
His insurer, BNZ, put the hiked premium down to a data entry error, apologised for the inconvenience and said its staff do not have discretion when it comes to quoting premiums.
But if Chad had not argued strongly against the new number, calling BNZ several times to query the hike and pulling the old "I need to talk to your manager", he may have settled for $72 a month and $864 per year, or even the bank's interim offer of $58 a month.
Chad's tenacity saved him $408 a year, but Consumer New Zealand research estimates shopping around for car cover could save Kiwis over $800 per year.
It says there are huge variations in the premiums offered for young drivers and variations tied to your sex.
Chad is in the worst of all worlds when it comes to vehicle insurance premiums. He's male and young, and according to Consumer his insurer - BNZ - applies the biggest penalty for being a boy; $21 a month more.
But Insurance Council of New Zealand (ICNZ) manager John Lucas says the auto insurance sector is "very, very" competitive.
It's dominated by four insurers; IAG (which owns State, NZI, AMI), AA Insurance, Vero and commercial fleet insurer Lumley.
Insurers collect more than $1.2 billion from us in premium income per year for all registered vehicles on our roads including cars, trucks and commercial vehicles, Lucas says.
But a 2012 Ministry of Transport Survey found 8 per cent of the four million registered vehicles were uninsured or their owners didn't know if they had insurance; an earlier ICNZ survey has uninsured vehicles numbering as high as 25 per cent.
The Ministry of Transport recently considered whether third party insurance should be made compulsary but decided against it as the benefits would have outweighed the cost.
If you have a bomb worth a few hundred dollars it makes sense to not pay for comprehensive car insurance - which covers damage and loss of your car and damage to other vehicles or things - which could cost more than your car is worth, Lucas says.
But third party insurance covering you for damage to other people's cars - and property - should be considered.
Lucas says you may not care if your car is a write off but imagine if you hit a lamp-post, or bridge?
Damage to infrastructure comes with a horrendous cost, Lucas says.
He says lots of New Zealanders only have third party insurance and the main thing to consider with car insurance is protecting you from liability - or OPB - other people's bills.
Once you've decided you will get insurance it's a choice between the level of cover from fully protected comprehensive including fire and theft, comprehensive and then the thinnest protection; third party.
So what drives the price? The type of vehicle, make and value of vehicle, driver history and experience, how long have they had their insurance, and the type of cover combined with location and where you park you car will all contribute to what premium you pay.
Consumer says third party with fire and theft is about half the price of a comprehensive policy and third party alone policies even cheaper.
Lucas says you certainly should shop around. The big things to look for are pricing and service while Consumer recommends getting a least three quotes.
It also says you should be like Chad - if your existing insurer isn't the cheapest try bargaining or asking them if they will match another company's quote.
A good deal is important, but worthless if you have a prang and are not covered.
A cheap deal may be cheap because there are exclusions and you are not getting the cover you need.
Consumer agrees, saying "price isn't everything".
"A standard benefit in one company's policy may be an optional extra in another."
Consumer says to ask about discounts, for example, if you insure your house and contents too, park your car in a garage, fit an alarm system or restrict the policy to drivers over a certain age.
If you've settled on an insurer and policy a key transaction will take place that may scupper your chances of having claims accepted in the future.
When you sign up you have to give the insurer a range of personal information.
Tell little white lies at your peril.
Last year the Insurance and Saving Ombudsman (ISO) Scheme investigated 26 formal complaints about motor vehicle insurance.
To date this year the ISO Scheme has accepted 22out of 240 formal complaints for investigation and 576 out of 2748 complaint enquiries regarding motor vehicle insurance.
One of the ISO's most common complaints from consumers relates to claims declined or policies voided for non-disclosure.
"When taking out insurance it is important to answer all the questions on the application truthfully and completely. This includes information about your driving history and any modifications made to your car.
If you only include what you think is relevant information, you could end up with no cover when you make a claim," ombudsman Karen Stevens says.
Her other top tips for car insurance include; not breaching driver's licence restrictions and checking the sum insured - even if you have a high sum insured for your car and its market value is less, your insurer will only pay the market value.
Lucas says a common "trap" people fall into is parents insuring a car for their child to get a lower premium.
"If the car is registered in the daughter's name and she is primary driver of the car the claim could be rejected as she is the real owner," he says.
Lucas, Consumer and Stevens all recommend you read your policy carefully to check what is covered and what is not. You might be surprised.
If you have a car seat that is usually in the car it will likely be covered by your car insurance.
But if you have a seat that is taken out and transports your child inside it may not be.
If your car gets stolen and you have half your wardrobe and precious CD collection in the boot - it's not covered, Lucas says.
"If it's permanently attached to the car it's probably covered, if it's not it is covered under house and contents insurance," he says.
- © Fairfax NZ News
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