Life Insurance with Epilepsy in NZ: Cover, Cost and Driving Rules
Most New Zealanders with epilepsy can still buy life insurance, and the outcome usually turns on seizure type, time seizure-free, and whether the cause is idiopathic, rather than on the diagnosis itself. Epilepsy is not a defined trauma condition on New Zealand critical illness lists, so trauma cover, income protection and health insurance more often carry a specific exclusion, and ACC does not pay for the seizure disorder itself because it covers injury, not illness. Driving status matters too: NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi stands a licence down for 12 months after a single seizure, and a heavy vehicle or passenger endorsement is normally unavailable to anyone with a history of epilepsy, which feeds directly into how income protection is underwritten. A licensed adviser can put a seizure history to several insurers on QuoteHub's panel, including a guaranteed-acceptance option, and compare the terms that come back.
In short
- Around 49,000 New Zealanders, roughly 1% of the population, live with epilepsy, and about 10% will have a seizure in their life without it becoming a diagnosis, Epilepsy New Zealand says.
- A single seizure means a 12-month driving stand-down, and a heavy vehicle or P, V, I or O endorsement is normally unavailable unless seizure-free for 5 years off medication or 10 years on it, NZTA's guidance says.
- ACC "cover[s] personal injuries caused by accidents" but lists "illness, sickness, or contagious diseases" among what it does not cover, so a seizure disorder brings no ACC income replacement (ACC).
- Momentum Life's guaranteed-acceptance Quick Life, up to $300,000 with "no medical exams or underwriting required", carries a 2-year pre-existing condition wait, a fallback if standard underwriting is difficult.
Epilepsy covers a wide range, from a single childhood seizure long resolved to an active, medicated condition with ongoing seizures. Insurers underwrite your specific history, not "epilepsy" as one label: seizure type, time seizure-free, driving status, and what a neurologist says about control. This guide covers what insurers typically ask and what outcomes look like across life, trauma, income protection and health insurance, plus the driving rules that shape an application. For the general mechanics, see pre-existing conditions generally and how underwriting works.
How many New Zealanders have epilepsy?
Around 49,000 New Zealanders, roughly 1% of the population, live with epilepsy, more common in children, adolescents and people over 60, Epilepsy New Zealand says. Epilepsy is only diagnosed after at least two unprovoked seizures; around 10% of the population will have a seizure at some point without it becoming a formal diagnosis, a distinction NZTA and insurers both treat differently (same source). Health New Zealand describes epilepsy as seizures "caused by brief abnormal electrical activity in their brains", ranging from mild to severe (Health New Zealand).
How do insurers assess epilepsy?
New Zealand insurers do not publish a condition-by-condition epilepsy loading table the way some do for diabetes, so applications follow the underwriting principles reinsurers set for the industry generally. Gen Re, a reinsurer whose guidance sits behind many insurers' own manuals, advises establishing first whether epilepsy is idiopathic or linked to another neurological cause, since "risk of death is related to type and severity of seizure, with simple and partial seizures being much less dangerous than seizures associated with grand mal features" (Gen Re). Recency matters too: mortality risk after a new diagnosis is highest in the first two years, then settles.
Applications are decided on the same five-way scale used for any condition: standard terms, a loading, an exclusion, a deferral, or a decline (see how underwriting works). A single isolated seizure with a clear, resolved cause is generally viewed more favourably than an active diagnosis with recent breakthrough seizures.
What are the NZ driving rules for epilepsy, and why do they matter for cover?
A single seizure means an automatic 12-month driving stand-down, reducible to 6 months if there are no further seizures (NZTA, Epilepsy/seizures and driving). Diagnosed epilepsy is normally considered controlled after 12 months without a seizure, reviewable from 6 months. A sleep-epilepsy pathway applies once you have at least 2 years of seizures only while asleep, with none while awake in the last 12 months. Heavy vehicle classes and P, V, I or O endorsements are usually, in NZTA's words, "not available to anyone with a history of epilepsy", though NZTA "may consider granting a commercial driver licence" after 5 years seizure-free off medication, or 10 years on it (same source).
Driving status is not a side issue for income protection. Gen Re's guidance notes that "epileptics in occupations that require a vocational licence or where driving is essential are at increased risk of disability", since "a single epileptic fit will result in the withdrawal of an individual's licence" (Gen Re). An applicant who drives for work is assessed more cautiously than someone office-based, the same way occupation shapes any income protection application.
| Epilepsy / seizure status | Driving position in NZ |
|---|---|
| Single seizure, no epilepsy diagnosis | 12-month stand-down; may be reviewed at 6 months |
| Epilepsy, seizure-free 12+ months | Generally considered controlled; reviewable from 6 months |
| Sleep epilepsy, established 2+ year pattern | May be able to drive if no waking seizures in the last 12 months |
| Uncontrolled (seizures in last 12 months, or medication recently changed) | Must not drive; needs medical clearance |
| Heavy vehicle / P, V, I, O endorsement | Normally unavailable; NZTA may consider it after 5 years seizure-free off medication, or 10 years on medication |
Source: NZTA, Epilepsy/seizures and driving, Factsheet 17.
What can you typically get: life, trauma, income and health cover with epilepsy?
Life insurance is generally the most accessible of the four, trauma cover is limited because epilepsy is not a listed critical illness condition, and income protection and health insurance more often carry an epilepsy-specific exclusion.
| Cover type | Newly diagnosed / active seizures | Well-controlled, seizure-free for years |
|---|---|---|
| Life insurance | Loading likely; some insurers defer a recent diagnosis | Often standard or near-standard terms |
| Trauma cover | Epilepsy alone is not a defined critical illness event | Same; ordinary epilepsy does not trigger a trauma payout |
| Income protection | Exclusion for epilepsy-related claims likely, more so if you drive for work | Exclusion still common, sometimes reviewed after a stable period |
| Health insurance | Pre-existing exclusion applies at most insurers | Same pre-existing rules; severity affects the value of any exclusion |
Chubb Life's critical illness terms define conditions such as encephalitis and major head trauma, the last requiring "a neurological deficit caused by a cerebral injury resulting in... permanent impairment of at least 25 percent of whole person function", but epilepsy itself is not on the list (Chubb Life & Living, Critical Illness Cover), so trauma cover rarely pays out for epilepsy alone.
ACC covers personal injuries from accidents, including a fall a seizure causes, but excludes "illness, sickness, or contagious diseases" (ACC), so the seizure disorder itself, and income lost to it, sits outside ACC. That is why income protection matters here: an NZTA stand-down can affect your ability to work as much as the seizures do.
If standard underwriting is difficult, Momentum Life's Quick Life is a guaranteed-acceptance option, "no medical exams or underwriting required", for cover between $50,000 and $300,000, subject to a 2-year pre-existing condition wait.
How does health insurance treat epilepsy as a pre-existing condition?
Health insurers do not treat pre-existing conditions the same way, and none of the four insurers below name epilepsy among the handful of conditions their policy is built to cover immediately.
| Insurer | Underwriting at application | Pre-existing epilepsy treatment |
|---|---|---|
| nib (Standard, Premium) | No medical history asked | Covered after 3 years of continuous cover; nib's own excluded list names cardiovascular, cancer, hip or knee, back, and transplant, reconstructive or reparative surgery, not epilepsy |
| Southern Cross UltraCare | Fully underwritten | Pre-existing exclusion "doesn't apply after 3 years of continuous cover on this plan" |
| AIA Private Health | Fully underwritten | Exclusion applies for the life of the policy unless accepted in writing at application |
| UniMed | Fully underwritten | Not on UniMed's permanently excluded "Chronic conditions" or "Degenerative neurological disorders" lists (Huntington's disease, Parkinson's disease and motor neurone disorders are named there; epilepsy is not); a personal exclusion may still apply, set case by case |
nib describes its position as a loyalty benefit: "after three years of continuous cover following your join date, we'll cover your eligible pre-existing conditions" (nib). UniMed names its permanently excluded lists in full, and epilepsy sits in neither, so it is assessed on UniMed's general pre-existing rule rather than an automatic exclusion; its own worked example uses 3 years, though the period is set case by case (UniMed Terms and Conditions 2026). Full comparison in health insurance with pre-existing conditions.
What does life and trauma cover cost, and could epilepsy change the price?
The tables below show the standard, unloaded monthly premium a non-smoking applicant in occupation class 1 is quoted today, from insurers' published rate cards as at 8 September 2026, compiled in QuoteHub's Premium Index. This is not a personalised quote and is not epilepsy-specific; it is the baseline any loading would sit on top of.
Life insurance, $500,000 cover, male, non-smoker
| Age | Typical monthly cost |
|---|---|
| 35 | $30 to $40 |
| 45 | $50 to $70 |
Indicative monthly cost from insurers' published rate cards as at 8 September 2026 (see AIA and Fidelity Life for two insurers' own published rates).
Trauma cover, $100,000 cover, male, non-smoker
| Age | Typical monthly cost |
|---|---|
| 35 | $20 to $35 |
| 45 | $60 to $80 |
Indicative monthly cost from insurers' published rate cards as at 8 September 2026 (see Chubb Life and Partners Life for two insurers' own published rates).
No New Zealand insurer publishes a condition-by-condition loading table for epilepsy, so QuoteHub has not put a figure on one. Partners Life describes a loading simply as cover that costs more because "if you have a history of health issues, you may need to pay more", on top of any exclusion rather than instead of one (Partners Life). The only way to see the number against your own history is to apply, ideally through an adviser. Other ages, genders and amounts are on the Premium Index.
How can you improve your chances of standard terms?
A neurologist's letter setting out seizure type, medication, frequency and the date of your last seizure is the single most useful document you can bring (Gen Re). A recent EEG or MRI, and a clear driving status, help an underwriter move quickly.
Disclose everything, including a single unexplained seizure that never became a formal diagnosis. IFSO notes a pre-existing condition "can include a symptom, a sign, or a circumstance of the condition being present at the time you take out the policy" (IFSO), not only a formal diagnosis, so a childhood seizure belongs on the form even if no doctor ever called it epilepsy. A licensed adviser working across a panel of insurers can identify which one's approach tends to suit a seizure history, present the evidence clearly, and, if the first offer looks restrictive, try a different insurer or a guaranteed-acceptance fallback.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I get life insurance in New Zealand if I have epilepsy?
Yes, in most cases. A well-controlled history with a clear seizure-free period is viewed more favourably than a recent or active diagnosis, and outcomes depend on seizure type and cause, not the word "epilepsy" on the form.
Will epilepsy stop me getting a driver licence?
Not permanently, for a standard car licence, in most cases. NZTA stands your licence down for 12 months after a seizure, reviewable at 6 months, and controlled epilepsy is generally compatible with driving. Heavy vehicle and passenger endorsements are a much higher bar.
Does income protection cover a seizure-related claim?
Often, only partly. Many insurers exclude claims caused directly by epilepsy while covering everything else. Since ACC does not cover illness, income protection is one of the few ways to replace lost income if a seizure disorder or its driving restrictions stop you working.
Is a single seizure the same as epilepsy for insurance purposes?
No. A single seizure still triggers its own 12-month driving stand-down and must be disclosed as a pre-existing symptom, even though Epilepsy New Zealand notes many one-off seizures never become a formal epilepsy diagnosis.
Will health insurance cover treatment for my epilepsy?
It depends on the insurer and whether the epilepsy predates the policy. nib and Southern Cross UltraCare both lift a pre-existing exclusion after three years of continuous cover, while AIA Private Health's exclusion runs for the life of the policy unless accepted in writing at application.
Talk to a Licensed Adviser
If you have epilepsy and want a straight answer on what you can get, the fastest way is to put your seizure history in front of a licensed adviser, with no pressure to proceed. QuoteHub is operated by Craig Smith Business Services Limited, trading as Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver, a licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931), comparing terms across a named panel of insurers against your history.
Start a free review and see what cover is realistic across life insurance and beyond.
References
- Epilepsy New Zealand, What is Epilepsy?
- Health New Zealand, Epilepsy
- NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi, Epilepsy/seizures and driving (Factsheet 17)
- ACC New Zealand, Injuries we don't cover
- Gen Re, Underwriting Epilepsy in Life and Disability Insurance
- nib, a guide to pre-existing conditions
- Southern Cross UltraCare Policy document
- AIA Private Health Policy Wording, version 7
- UniMed Terms and Conditions 2026
- Chubb Life & Living Insurance, Critical Illness Cover terms
- Partners Life, understanding Special Terms
- Insurance and Financial Services Ombudsman, pre-existing medical conditions
- Momentum Life, Quick Life Insurance
This article is general information only and does not constitute personalised financial advice. Insurance availability, loadings and exclusions are subject to individual underwriting by the insurer, and outcomes vary by insurer and by case.
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