Written by · Reviewed by Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver — licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931) · Last updated 2026-10-20

How to compare lower-cost life insurance for seniors

There is no universally cheapest life insurance for New Zealand seniors. Price depends on your age at entry, gender, smoking status, the sum insured and whether the insurer assesses your health. Healthy seniors usually get more cover for less through fully underwritten cover from an adviser. Guaranteed-acceptance cover asks no health questions, so a healthy applicant will usually find it costs more per dollar insured.

In short

The cheapest life insurance for a senior is the cheapest policy for that senior's age, health and need, and it is only cheapest on the day you compare. Three things change the answer. First, the insurer's risk view of you: an underwritten policy prices your health in, a guaranteed-acceptance policy prices a whole group of unassessed people. Second, the shape of the premium: stepped premiums start lower and rise every year, level premiums start higher and stay fixed unless the insurer changes rates for everyone. Third, what you get for the money: a policy that pays nothing for most causes of death in the first two years is not the same product as one that pays from day one. This page explains how each of those moves the price, shows dated ranges where QuoteHub has them and gives a method for comparing quotes without being fooled by a low opening figure.

What the price depends on

QuoteHub's Premium Index prices life cover from insurers' published rate cards. The method and current ranges are on the life insurance quotes page. Its drivers are consistent with what insurers say about their own pricing: Fidelity says its stepped premium "rises each year with age, gender, smoker status and amount" (Fidelity), and Asteron says stepped premiums "start lower... but increase each year based on your age at that time" (Asteron).

Smoking changes the price a great deal. In the same snapshot, staying nicotine-free for 12 months before applying would save roughly a third to over half of the monthly cost at most ages. Fidelity and Chubb both want no tobacco and no nicotine replacement for 12 months for non-smoker rates.

How stepped premiums climb past 50

Basis for the figures below: indicative monthly cost from insurers' published rate cards as at 8 September 2026 (QuoteHub's panel of insurers); stepped premiums; non-smoker; occupation class 1; standard rates, with no loadings or exclusions; $500,000 of life cover. Each figure is one range across the insurers that priced the row, rounded outward. Your own premium depends on underwriting, and these are not quotes.

Age Man, $500,000 Woman, $500,000
50 $90 to $120 $80 to $100
60 $300 to $375 $225 to $275
65 $625 to $725 $400 to $475

Taking the midpoints, a man's range at 60 is roughly three times the range at 50, and at 65 roughly six times (QuoteHub's arithmetic on the ranges above). The Index prices only ages 25 to 65, so QuoteHub publishes no range for 66 or over.

Cover amount does not scale in a straight line. For the same basis:

Age Man, $500,000 Man, $1,000,000 Woman, $500,000 Woman, $1,000,000
60 $300 to $375 $550 to $650 $225 to $275 $400 to $475
65 $625 to $725 $1,125 to $1,275 $400 to $475 $725 to $850

Cutting the sum insured lowers the monthly cost, but by less than half when the sum is halved. Ask what the sum insured needs to do before cutting it to save money.

Stepped premiums versus level premiums

Stepped cover is usually the lower figure at the start. Level cover starts higher and stays fixed subject to the policy's rate-change terms. The Financial Markets Authority says cover that is cheaper at first can cost more over time, and that most premiums rise annually with age or inflation (FMA). Some "level" products convert: IFSO published a case where a "Level to age 80" policy converted to the insurer's age-based rate at 80 and the monthly premium went from $49 to $190. The complaint was not upheld (IFSO). Read what happens at the end of any level period. For a longer explanation see stepped versus level premiums; QuoteHub gives no annual percentage rise or crossover age because we have no sourced figure.

Underwritten cover versus no-health-question policies

Guaranteed-acceptance products ask no health questions. Momentum Life's Quick Life takes ages 18 to 65, with stepped premiums to 75 and then fixed, and excludes pre-existing conditions and suicide for the first 2 years. Its Funeral Insurance takes ages 40 to 75 with level premiums to the 89th birthday, and in the first 24 months pays only for accidental death. Total premiums on either can exceed the benefit, and the benefit may not cover the whole cost of a funeral. Momentum Life's A.M. Best rating is B (Fair); see its financial strength page.

The honest comparison is this. If you are healthy, an adviser can ask underwritten insurers what they would charge and compare that to a guaranteed-acceptance quote. If you have a condition that makes underwritten cover expensive or unavailable, guaranteed acceptance may be the only way to have cover at all, and the early window is the price. Neither is cheapest in general.

Funeral-style cover: price against the benefit

Few insurers publish funeral-cover prices. AA Life shows "from $14.28 a week" for $10,000 for a 66-year-old female AA Member non-smoker (AA Life, retrieved 20 October 2026). That is one profile and a "from" price, not a price for you. At that rate, premiums reach $10,000 after about 700 weeks, or roughly 13 years (QuoteHub's arithmetic), and AA Life's wording lets it raise premiums for all policies on the offer. Whatever the figure, the check is the same: premium times the years you expect to pay, against the benefit. See funeral insurance comparison for the terms side by side.

Entry-age cut-offs

A cheaper policy that you cannot buy is no use. Published entry ages (insurers' own pages, read 17 to 20 October 2026): Fidelity Life cover 16 to 75; Chubb Life Assurance Extra 10 to 70; AIA Living Life Cover 10 to 70; NZ Seniors Life 45 to 79; Golden Insurance 40 to 80. Funeral cover: Momentum 40 to 75, NZ Seniors and OneChoice 18 to 79, AA Life 50 to 79, Chubb Life 50 to 80. If you are close to a cut-off, a quote this year may be impossible next year. For the over-75 position see life insurance over 75.

Checks before you pick the lowest quote

  1. Same sum and same age. Compare the same cover, on the same date.
  2. Same shape. Stepped against stepped, level against level.
  3. Early-claim window. What is paid in the first 12 to 24 months?
  4. Exclusions. Quick Life, for example, always excludes deaths from alcohol or drug effects, war, terrorism, criminal activity and listed dangerous jobs or pastimes.
  5. Rate-change terms. Can the insurer change the rate for everyone? Momentum can, on 30 days' notice.
  6. Commission. The FMA says most advisers are paid commission, built into the premium, and that you can ask how much (FMA).
  7. Affordability at 85. Stepped cover that is easy at 60 can be hard on a pension.

Comparing an adviser's quote with a direct product

A direct product is simple, with one insurer's terms. An adviser can check several insurers, including underwritten ones, and explain the differences. QuoteHub is a Momentum Life partner, and Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver, a licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931) run by Craig Smith Business Services Limited, may receive a commission on Momentum products; see how we are paid. The buttons on this page go to Momentum's own application only. For more on the over-55 position, read life insurance over 55, and for the funeral side see seniors funeral insurance.

Frequently asked questions

What is the cheapest life insurance for seniors?

It depends on age, gender, smoking, sum insured and health. We do not name an insurer as cheapest, because no sourced comparison covers every senior and the answer changes with each profile.

Is whole life cheaper than term for older adults?

We have no sourced comparison showing either is cheaper as a rule. The right comparison is total cost against the benefit over the years you expect to pay, using quotes for the same sum and shape.

Why do premiums jump at 60?

On stepped cover the rate is reset each year for age, so the rise is steady and gets steeper. The dated ranges above show the range at 60 roughly three times the range at 50 for the same cover.

References

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