Life insurance for smokers over 50 and 60
Smokers over 50 pay far more for life cover in New Zealand, and the cost rises steeply through the 50s and early 60s. Underwritten policies ask about your health and smoking; Momentum Life's Quick Life, for ages 18 to 65, asks no health questions but prices on smoking status. Fidelity and Chubb publish that you must be free of tobacco and nicotine for 12 months to be rated a non-smoker. Momentum's Quick Life wording gives 24 consecutive months.
In short
- Smokers' premiums for the same cover are well above non-smokers'. QuoteHub's Premium Index shows the smoker price for $500,000 at 60 at about double.
- Vaping with nicotine and nicotine replacement count at the insurers that publish a definition. Momentum's Quick Life wording does not define "smoker", so ask.
- Quick Life has no health questions but excludes pre-existing conditions and suicide for the first 2 years, and a smoking-related illness can be a pre-existing condition.
- Funeral Insurance's wording does not mention smoking, and Momentum publishes no funeral premium.
- Quitting before you apply can cut the premium, but do not delay cover that someone depends on just to save money.
What smokers pay between 50 and 65
The table is QuoteHub's Premium Index: indicative monthly cost of $500,000 of stepped life cover, from insurers' published rate cards as at 8 September 2026. Each range is across the insurers that priced it (Momentum priced only $250,000, so it is not in these rows), class 1 occupation, standard rates with no loadings, rounded outward. Your own premium depends on underwriting.
| Age | Man, non-smoker | Man, smoker | Woman, non-smoker | Woman, smoker |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | $90 to $120 | $200 to $275 | $80 to $100 | $150 to $190 |
| 60 | $300 to $375 | $675 to $800 | $225 to $275 | $425 to $525 |
| 65 | $625 to $725 | $1,100 to $1,425 | $400 to $475 | $650 to $850 |
The smoker price runs about 2.2 to 2.4 times the cheapest non-smoker quote from the mid-forties to the mid-fifties, and about 1.6 to 1.8 times by 65 (QuoteHub analysis of the same snapshot). The multiple eases at 65, but only because the non-smoker price has risen so far; the dollar gap is larger. See the Premium Index for smokers and the method. For a full chart across ages, read smoker versus non-smoker life insurance. An insurer's own page is the place for a real quote, such as Fidelity Life's life cover page.
What counts as smoking
Insurers decide what a smoker is, and the definitions are not identical.
- Fidelity and Chubb both say a non-smoker has had no tobacco and no nicotine replacement for 12 months. That includes vaping with nicotine, gum, patches and chewing tobacco. Chubb adds that smoking marijuana more than once a week can incur a loading (Fidelity FAQ, Chubb underwriting guide).
- Momentum Quick Life prices on age, gender, smoking status and benefit amount. Its wording does not define "smoker". It does say that a smoker who has quit for 24 consecutive months can apply to be treated as a non-smoker by completing a non-smoking declaration. It does not say whether vaping or nicotine patches count, so ask Momentum before you rely on a view.
For vaping by itself, our general guide life insurance for smokers explains how most insurers treat it. We found no published rule that gives vapers a separate price.
How Momentum treats smoking, product by product
Quick Life (ages 18 to 65, $50,000 to $300,000) is guaranteed acceptance with no health questions or medical. The premium is set by age, gender, smoking status and benefit, recalculated each policy anniversary, and generally rises each year until 75, when it becomes fixed. Three smoking rules sit in the wording (Momentum Life: Quick Life Policy Wording):
- If the smoking status was not correctly stated and the correct premium is higher, the benefit is adjusted to reflect what would have applied. If the correct premium is lower, the difference is refunded.
- If you quit for 24 consecutive months, you can apply to update to non-smoker rates, with new premiums from the next payment date.
- If you resume smoking, the policy returns to smoker rates at the next anniversary, even if you do not tell Momentum.
Funeral Insurance (ages 40 to 75, $3,000 to $30,000) also asks no health questions. The wording we read does not mention smoking status as a premium factor, and Momentum publishes no funeral premium, so we cannot say whether a smoker pays a different rate. Ask for your own figure. In the first 24 months, Funeral Insurance pays only for accidental death; for any other death in that window all premiums for that person are refunded. Total premiums can end up larger than the benefit, and the benefit may not cover the whole funeral. See funeral insurance for seniors.
Momentum Life's A.M. Best financial strength rating is B (Fair); see Momentum's financial strength page.
The two-year rule matters more for smokers
Quick Life excludes pre-existing conditions for the first 2 years. The wording defines a pre-existing condition as any illness, condition or symptoms in the 2 years before the start, including treatment or advice, even if undiagnosed, and it names very high blood pressure, cholesterol over 7.0, a BMI over 40 and complications related to diabetes. A person who has had a chest or heart condition treated, or has symptoms they have not yet had checked, may find that a death from that cause in the first 2 years is not covered. If death is from a pre-existing condition in the first 24 months and no claim is payable, premiums are refunded.
That does not mean every smoker will be affected, and we cannot say which conditions count in your case. Read the definition first, and see our guide to the two-year exclusion. Always-excluded causes, such as alcohol or drug effects and listed dangerous jobs or pastimes, apply regardless of smoking.
Underwritten cover for older smokers
Underwritten cover is assessed on your health, history and lifestyle, and smoking is only one factor. Anything you disclose can change the terms offered. Asteron describes three options for an existing condition: a stand-down period, a higher premium, or excluding the condition (Asteron). Nobody can promise the result in advance, and an adviser cannot make an insurer accept you.
Tell the insurer your real smoking status. If you say you have quit and have not, the insurer can decline a claim, cancel the policy or reduce the benefit, and from 15 November 2027 (not yet in force) the Contracts of Insurance Act 2024 changes the remedies for a misstatement, as the FMA explains. Today the policy wording and the duty of disclosure apply. Our comparison of Quick Life with underwritten cover shows the trade-offs.
Should you quit before you apply?
QuoteHub's Premium Index puts the saving from 12 nicotine-free months at about 33 to 57 percent a month at most ages. That is a lot, and it is a good reason to quit for health reasons alone. Three cautions:
- You will be a year older when you apply, and stepped premiums rise with age.
- Your health can change in the year, which can change what an insurer offers.
- If someone relies on your income now, a year without cover has its own risk. Cover bought as a smoker may be reclassified later; ask the insurer how, as Momentum's 24-month declaration shows.
A licensed adviser can compare these with your circumstances. Advice is provided by Craig Smith Business Services Limited, trading as Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver, a licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931). QuoteHub is a Momentum Life partner, and Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver may receive a commission on Momentum products; see how we are paid. The buttons on this page lead to Momentum's own application. For other ways to cut cost, read cheapest life insurance for seniors, and see the Quick Life page and the no-medical-exam guide for smokers.
Frequently asked questions
Does vaping count as smoking for life insurance?
At Fidelity and Chubb, vaping with nicotine counts. Momentum's Quick Life wording does not define smoking, so ask it directly.
How long must I be smoke-free to get non-smoker rates?
Fidelity and Chubb publish 12 months. Momentum Quick Life gives 24 consecutive months.
Can I get life insurance as a smoker aged 60?
Yes, from underwritten insurers, at smoker rates and subject to underwriting, and from Quick Life up to 65 with no health questions. Funeral Insurance is open to 75.
Does smoking affect a Funeral Insurance claim?
The wording we read does not mention smoking. The 24-month accidental-death rule applies to every cause.
References
- Momentum Life: Quick Life Insurance Policy Wording (November 2025), retrieved 17 October 2026
- Momentum Life: Funeral Insurance Policy Wording (17 August 2023), retrieved 17 October 2026
- Momentum Life: Financial strength, retrieved 20 October 2026
- Fidelity Life: Frequently asked questions, retrieved 20 October 2026
- Fidelity Life: Life cover, retrieved 20 October 2026
- Chubb: Essential underwriting guide (May 2025), retrieved 20 October 2026
- Asteron Life: Insurance options for pre-existing conditions, retrieved 20 October 2026
- Financial Markets Authority: Contracts of Insurance Act 2024, retrieved 20 October 2026
Read the full insurance guides
Compare your cover with a licensed NZ adviser · free, no obligation.
Explore related pages: Life Insurance, Income Protection, Health Insurance, Trauma Insurance, Compare Insurance NZ.