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

Can you buy or pay for life insurance for your parents?

Often yes, if your parent knows and takes part. New Zealand law does not require you to prove an interest in a parent's life to own a policy on it. The practical limits are the insurer's rules. Momentum's Funeral Insurance lets an adult child own a policy on a parent aged 40 to 75. Quick Life, for ages 18 to 65, lists only parents or siblings as owners of someone else's cover.

In short

What does the law say about insuring a parent?

A life policy is not void or illegal just because the person who owns it has no interest in the life insured. That was the rule in the Insurance Law Reform Act 1985 (s 6) and it is carried into the Contracts of Insurance Act 2024 (s 76), which comes into force on 15 November 2027 (not yet in force). So the question "do I need an insurable interest?" has a clear answer: no. We found no New Zealand statute that sets a consent test in its place. What stops a stranger arranging cover is the insurer's own process, and what stops a secret policy working is practical: underwritten cover asks the life insured about their own health and lifestyle, and an insurer that finds answers were wrong can reduce or avoid a claim (IFSO). QuoteHub's view is simple: arrange cover on a parent only with their knowledge and agreement. We do not help with anything else.

Who owns the policy, who pays and who is paid?

Three roles can sit with different people. The life insured is the parent. The policy owner controls the policy, pays the premiums and, in the case of Momentum's Funeral Insurance, receives the benefit. The beneficiary is whoever the owner nominates to be paid if the owner dies.

For Momentum's Funeral Insurance, the wording says a single policy covers "You or a Partner/Relative", and "Relative" includes the owner's parent. The owner must be a natural person who is a New Zealander, and each life insured is subject to the entry rules. Benefit payments are made to the policy owner; if the owner has died, to the nominated beneficiary, and if none, to the owner's executor (Funeral Insurance wording). In practice that means an adult child who owns a policy on a parent receives the benefit and can use it for the funeral. A beneficiary must be a natural person: Momentum cannot pay a funeral director, a company or a charity directly.

Quick Life works differently. The life insured is usually the owner. Ownership can be moved to someone aged at least 16 by form, and the wording says a policy may be owned by an immediate family member "limited to parents or siblings", with the consent of each life insured. An adult child owning a policy on a parent is not listed, so the simplest arrangement is that your parent applies and owns it (Quick Life wording). If you want to pay the premiums on a policy your parent owns, that is an arrangement between you; ask Momentum whether it accepts payments from another person. The money would go to your parent's nominated beneficiary or estate, not automatically to you.

What can an adult child arrange, by the parent's age?

Parent's age Momentum Funeral Insurance Momentum Quick Life Other options
Under 40 Not open Open from 18; no health questions Underwritten cover from other insurers
40 to 65 Open; $3,000 to $30,000 Open; $50,000 to $300,000 As above
66 to 75 Open Not open Underwritten life cover at some insurers; funeral cover elsewhere
76 and over Not open Not open See life insurance over 75

Both products have an early restriction you should state to your parent. Funeral Insurance pays only for accidental death in the first 24 months; any other death in that window pays no benefit and all premiums for that person are refunded. Quick Life excludes pre-existing conditions and suicide for the first 2 years, refunds premiums if a pre-existing condition causes death in that window and no claim is payable, and excludes some causes permanently, including alcohol or drug effects, war, criminal activity and listed dangerous jobs or pastimes. Our page on life insurance exclusions sets these out clause by clause. Momentum's own site says Quick Life is not available to applicants diagnosed with a terminal illness or in palliative or hospice care.

Eligibility also depends on residence. Under Funeral Insurance a "New Zealander" lives in New Zealand and is a New Zealand or Australian citizen, a permanent resident visa holder, or has been here continuously for at least 12 months on a valid temporary work visa. The guaranteed acceptance eligibility checker tests age limits quickly.

Funeral cover or life cover for an older parent?

They do different jobs. Funeral Insurance pays a fixed benefit towards costs, up to $30,000. It is level: the rate is fixed each year until the 89th birthday, when premiums end and cover continues for life, though Momentum can change rates for everyone on a plan for tax or claims reasons with 30 days' notice. Quick Life pays $50,000 to $300,000 plus 3% a year to a $500,000 cap per person, with stepped premiums that rise each year until 75 and are then fixed.

A funeral is a known cost. In FDANZ's 2026 report the average full funeral with cremation for 50 guests is $11,700, and with burial $14,300 (FDANZ). The Work and Income Funeral Grant has a maximum of $2,697.43, with income and asset tests in some cases, and says prepaid funeral cover can affect whether you get it (Work and Income).

This is not a savings or investment plan. Depending on how long the policy is held, the total premiums can exceed the benefit, and the benefit may not cover the cost of a funeral. Setting money aside is the other way to prepare, and it suits some families. See funeral insurance for parents and our funeral insurance hub for the funeral side, and how the funeral insurance providers compare.

What does cover for a parent cost?

Momentum publishes no funeral premium, and we do not quote one; the online application shows the figure for a parent's age and the amount. For underwritten life cover, the rise with age is steep. Indicative monthly cost from insurers' published rate cards as at 8 September 2026, for $500,000, non-smoker, occupation class 1, standard rates, stepped, as a range across the insurers that priced each row:

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

Your parent's own premium depends on underwriting. These ranges come from QuoteHub's Premium Index and its methodology; the Index prices ages 25 to 65 only, so there is no range for older parents.

Step by step: organising cover on a parent

  1. Talk to your parent first. Ask whether they want cover, what they have already, and who should be paid.
  2. Check age and residence against the table above and the wordings.
  3. Decide the structure. Who will own the policy, who pays, and who is the beneficiary if the owner dies first.
  4. Read the early restrictions together (24 months, or 2 years) and what is refunded.
  5. Apply together. For underwritten cover your parent answers the health questions; incomplete answers can cost a claim.
  6. Use the 30-day free look. Momentum gives a free look from the acceptance date (Funeral) or the policy start date (Quick Life), with a full refund if no claim has been made.
  7. Keep the papers and tell the family where they are. Someone has to know the policy exists before a claim can be made.

If your parent is over 75, or the question is wider than insurance, see life insurance for elderly parents and guaranteed acceptance for parents.

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 personal advice. QuoteHub is a Momentum Life partner, and Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver may receive a commission if you buy through our link; see how we are paid and our disclosure. Momentum Life Limited has an A.M. Best financial strength rating of B (Fair), which sits in A.M. Best's "Vulnerable" range, affirmed 11 February 2026 (Momentum's financial strength page). The buttons on this page lead to Momentum's own application; read the plan pages for Funeral Cover and Quick Life first. Last reviewed 20 October 2026.

Frequently asked questions

Can I pay for my parents' life insurance?

Yes. If you own the policy, you pay the premiums. If your parent owns it, whether another person can pay is up to the insurer, so ask.

Can you take life insurance out on a parent without telling them?

Not with our help, and we would not advise it. Underwritten cover needs your parent's own health answers, and Quick Life's wording requires the consent of each life insured when a family member owns the policy. The Funeral wording is silent on consent, so ask Momentum.

Is there cheap life insurance for parents?

Cost rises sharply with age and depends on health, smoking and the amount. Funeral Insurance premiums are level to the 89th birthday; Quick Life and most underwritten premiums rise each year. Compare wordings as well as price.

What if my parent is over 75?

Momentum accepts no new applicants over 75. Read life insurance over 75 for what other insurers publish.

References

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