The doors to insurance cover are opening a bit in Canterbury with ANZ Bank and insurer Vero saying they will insure some new homes.

Customers wanting insurance cover to build a new home on a new site or their existing section will be considered on a case by case basis.

Vero's criteria for determining if it will insure includes the location, land quality and construction.

Earlier this week Westpac Bank and Lumley Insurance said they would provide fixed-sum cover for new homes but not the traditional open-ended replacement cover.

ANZ and Vero said the cover was available to existing and new mortgage customers for residential properties in Canterbury.

Company representatives said the home insurance cover would be based on an open square metre basis but subject to a ceiling of $2000 per square metre.

If a customer wanted more cover than $2000 a square metre they would have to take out a fixed-sum insured policy.

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