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

Life insurance cost by age in NZ: how premiums climb

Life insurance premiums in New Zealand rise with age because stepped premiums are reset every year for the age you have reached. On QuoteHub's Premium Index, as at 8 September 2026, the lowest quote for $500,000 of non-smoker cover is about eighteen times higher at 65 than at 30 for a man, and about seventeen times higher for a woman. Price is broadly flat from 25 to 35, then climbs faster each decade. These are rounded ranges and multiples, not quotes.

In short

The shape of the curve

The table divides the lowest quote at each age by the lowest quote at 30, for $500,000 of stepped, non-smoker cover. It shows the shape of the curve without publishing any one insurer's price.

Age Man, multiple of the age-30 price Woman, multiple of the age-30 price
25 about 1.2 about 1.1
30 1.0 1.0
35 about 1.0 about 1.2
40 about 1.2 about 1.6
45 about 1.7 about 2.2
50 about 2.8 about 3.5
55 about 4.9 about 5.9
60 about 9.2 about 10.0
65 about 18.3 about 17.4

Calculated by QuoteHub from the Premium Index: five insurers, monthly premiums from published rate cards as at 8 September 2026, occupation class 1, standard rates with no loadings or exclusions (methodology). Insurers' own rate cards are at AIA and Fidelity Life.

The pattern is the point. Between 25 and 35 the price moves little. From 45 each five-year step multiplies it by roughly 1.6 to 2, and the last decade, 55 to 65, multiplies it by about 3.7 for a man.

What those multiples look like as ranges

Rounded monthly ranges for $500,000, non-smoker, one range across the insurers that priced it, rounded outward:

Age Man Woman
30 $30 to $40 $20 to $30
40 $40 to $50 $35 to $40
50 $90 to $120 $80 to $100
60 $300 to $375 $225 to $275
65 $625 to $725 $400 to $475

Your own premium depends on underwriting; it is not a quote. The full table by age and the smoker rows are on the $500,000 cost page, and individual ages are covered in life insurance cost at 30 and at 60.

Smoking and sex change the curve

For the same $500,000, a smoker's lowest quote is about 1.6 times the non-smoker's at 25, about 2.2 to 2.3 times at 40 to 55 for a man, and about 1.8 times at 65. The multiple is lower for women, about 1.5 to 2.0. Fidelity Life and Chubb Life both ask for 12 months with no tobacco and no nicotine products before non-smoker rates apply (Fidelity FAQ). Momentum's Quick Life asks for 24 consecutive months.

A man's lowest quote is above a woman's at every age on the Index: about 65 percent higher at 25, narrowing to about 14 percent at 40, and widening again to about 55 percent at 65. See the smoker and men versus women breakdowns for each age.

Why premiums rise: stepped and level

A stepped premium (Fidelity calls it Yearly Renewable Term) is reset each year for age, sex, smoking and amount. Fidelity says level term starts "a bit higher" and stays the same for the term; Asteron says stepped premiums "start lower... but increase each year based on your age at that time" (Fidelity; Asteron brochure). AIA offers Rate for Age or level for 10 years, to 65 or to 80, after which the premium converts to Rate for Age (AIA wording).

Level premiums are not the same as fixed forever. The IFSO published a case of a "level to age 80" policy that converted at 80 and rose from $49 to $190 a month; the complaint was not upheld (IFSO). The FMA says a policy that is cheaper at first can cost more over time (FMA). We have no level prices to publish, so none appear here. The trade-offs are in stepped versus level premiums.

Quick Life by age

Quick Life is Momentum Life's guaranteed-acceptance life cover, issued by Momentum Life Limited.

Read the Quick Life plan page, and see life insurance with no medical exam for the other no-exam options. Momentum Life Limited has an A.M. Best financial strength rating of B (Fair), affirmed on 11 February 2026, a range A.M. Best calls vulnerable (Momentum: financial strength).

Entry ages at a glance

An entry age is a limit, not an offer, and health still decides acceptance for underwritten cover.

Product Entry age
Momentum Quick Life 18 to 65
Momentum Funeral Insurance 40 to 75
AIA Life Cover 10 to 70
Chubb Assurance Extra Life Cover 10 to 70 (55 for level to 65, 60 for level to 70)
Fidelity Life cover 16 to 75, no expiry age

Sources: AIA, Chubb brochure, Fidelity's page above and the Momentum wordings. For cover from 40 to 75 that pays a fixed benefit towards a funeral, see the funeral insurance hub. Momentum's Funeral Insurance pays only for accidental death in its first 24 months; any other death in that window pays no benefit and premiums are refunded. Funeral insurance is not a savings or investment plan. Depending on how long you keep your cover, the total premiums you pay could exceed the benefit paid, and the benefit may not cover the cost of a funeral.

Keeping cover affordable as you age

  1. Do the sum first. Needs fall when the mortgage shrinks and children leave home. The maximum life insurance cover guide covers how much an insurer will offer.
  2. Ask for the structure to be priced both ways. An adviser can run stepped and level quotes.
  3. Do not cancel before you have a replacement. The FMA says to keep the old policy running until the new one is in force, and to watch for new qualifying periods and exclusions.
  4. Remember that waiting has a cost. On a stepped policy the premium for the same cover rises each year, and health can change what is offered. See the cost of waiting.

A healthy person can usually get more cover for less with fully underwritten cover through an adviser. Guaranteed acceptance suits people who would be declined or heavily loaded elsewhere.

Compared: the Premium Index panel of five named insurers (six at $250,000), on cost by age, as at 8 September 2026. Not every NZ insurer is included. This is one adviser team's reading, not a score.

Financial advice is provided by Craig Smith Business Services Limited, trading as Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver, a licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931). This page is general information, not advice. QuoteHub is a Momentum Life partner, and Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver may receive a commission if you buy through our link; see our disclosure and how we are paid. The buttons on this page lead to Momentum's own application.

Frequently asked questions

Does buying young lock in a lower premium?

Not on a stepped policy, because the premium is recalculated every year for your age. Buying young locks in your health at the time you applied. A level premium fixes the price for the term, subject to the policy's rate-change terms.

How much more is life insurance at 50 than at 30?

On the Index, the lowest $500,000 non-smoker quote at 50 is about 2.8 times the age-30 figure for a man and 3.5 times for a woman.

What happens to Quick Life premiums at 75?

They stop stepping up and become fixed, and $20,000 of the benefit becomes free.

References

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