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

Life insurance for stay-at-home parents in New Zealand

Yes. A stay-at-home parent can get life insurance in New Zealand without an income, because life cover is sized to the family's loss, not to pay. Momentum Life's Quick Life takes New Zealand residents aged 18 to 65 for $50,000 to $300,000 with no health questions, but excludes pre-existing conditions and suicide for the first 2 years. Fully underwritten cover from an adviser can go higher.

In short

Can a stay-at-home parent get life insurance with no income?

Yes, and the insurers say so in their own guides. Chubb Life's underwriting guide says "the value placed on the Homemaker can be difficult to quantify, as the work is generally not paid", but "if a Homemaker becomes disabled or dies, there is financial loss to the family as paid help may be required for childcare and household maintenance." It adds that a homemaker may be a co-borrower or joint guarantor on loans (Chubb Life Essential Underwriting Guide). Fidelity Life's guide makes the same points in near-identical terms (Fidelity Life underwriting guide).

Both guides publish maximum sums insured for homemakers:

Cover type Chubb Life Fidelity Life
Life cover $1,500,000 $2,000,000
Total permanent disability (Chubb: complete disablement) $1,500,000 $1,500,000
Trauma cover $1,000,000 $1,000,000

Fidelity asks for a completed financial questionnaire (or an adviser's statement of advice) for homemaker amounts over $1,000,000 of life cover, $750,000 of trauma or $1,000,000 of total permanent disability, and Chubb says higher levels may be available on a questionnaire. The information the two guides list includes the number and ages of dependants, the home mortgage, the working partner's income, any special needs of children, your previous occupation and income, and whether the working partner holds equal or greater cover. That last point is worth noticing: insurers expect the parent who earns to be insured too. These are maximums, not offers, and each application is assessed on your health and circumstances.

What the cover should replace: a worksheet

The honest answer to "how much?" is a sum of things you can price. Work through these five lines with real quotes, not averages.

  1. Paid childcare you would need while the surviving parent works: weekly cost, times weeks a year, times the years until the youngest child is old enough to be home alone.
  2. Household help and transport: cooking, cleaning, school runs, whatever you do that would be paid for or cost the other parent time.
  3. Time for the surviving parent: a period of reduced or no work, at their take-home pay.
  4. Your share of debts you hold jointly or have guaranteed. Debts held jointly work differently from debts in one name, so check with the lender.
  5. Funeral costs. FDANZ's 2026 report gives an average of $11,700 for a full funeral for 50 guests with cremation and $14,300 with burial (FDANZ, 2026 Industry Trends Report).

Here is the arithmetic with round numbers that are examples only. Replace each with your own.

Line Example input Example result
Childcare $400 a week x 48 weeks x 8 years $153,600
Household help and transport $150 a week x 52 weeks x 8 years $62,400
Time for the surviving parent $5,000 a month take-home x 3 months $15,000
Share of joint debt Example share $50,000
Funeral FDANZ cremation figure $11,700
Total $292,700

Then subtract any cover already in place, such as cover through work or an existing policy. Our how much life insurance do I need guide and life insurance calculator use the same method, and how much cover new parents need goes further on the parent who earns.

Quick Life or fully underwritten cover?

Momentum Life's Quick Life is guaranteed-acceptance life cover issued by Momentum Life Limited. It accepts residents aged 18 to 65 and asks no health questions or medical exam, and it asks about neither income nor occupation. Cover runs from $50,000 to $300,000 per person, rising 3% a year until 75 or a $500,000 cap per person (you can skip a rise). Premiums rise each year with age until 75, then stay fixed. A couple can apply on one joint policy for a $50 discount each year, and each partner is covered separately: when one is paid, the other stays covered (Momentum Life: Quick Life Policy Wording, November 2025).

The trade-off sits in the first 2 years. Quick Life does not pay for death or terminal illness linked to a pre-existing condition, or for suicide or intentional self-harm, in that time. If a death from a pre-existing condition happens in the first 24 months with no claim payable, premiums are refunded. A few conditions can be excluded permanently in the policy schedule. After 2 years it pays for death from any cause except always-excluded events such as the effects of alcohol or drugs, war, criminal activity, and a dangerous job or risky pastime as the wording defines them.

If you are healthy, fully underwritten cover through a licensed adviser can usually give you more cover for less than a no-health-question product, and it lets you go well past $300,000. The QuoteHub Premium Index shows the scale. These are indicative monthly costs from insurers' published rate cards as at 8 September 2026, stepped, non-smoker, occupation class 1, standard rates, for $500,000 of life cover:

Age Man Woman
30 $30 to $40 $20 to $30
40 $40 to $50 $35 to $40

The range runs across the insurers that priced each row. The Index covers six insurers, and Momentum's Quick Life, which tops out at $300,000, is not in the $500,000 rows. Your own premium depends on underwriting, and the Index prices class 1 only: Chubb's and Fidelity's guides place homemakers in a separate class for their disability-type covers, so do not read these as a quote for a homemaker. See the Index method for the basis.

What a stay-at-home parent cannot get

Income protection pays a monthly benefit when you cannot work, so it needs earnings. Chubb says an applicant must work at least 25 hours a week to be considered for Income Cover, and Fidelity sets the same 25 hours for income protection. A full-time parent therefore cannot buy it, but the homemaker tables above show total permanent disability and trauma cover are open to non-earners (Chubb, Fidelity). See income protection versus TPD for the difference.

ACC helps after an accident only. It covers people in New Zealand injured in an accident, not illness (ACC: What we cover, ACC: Injuries we don't cover). See what ACC does not cover.

Owners, beneficiaries and tax

A Quick Life owner is usually the person insured. The wording allows an immediate family member as owner, but limits that to parents or siblings with each insured person's consent, so it does not list a partner as an owner of someone else's policy. A joint policy is the route for couples. The payout goes to the owner or a nominated beneficiary; only the owner can nominate or change one.

On tax, Inland Revenue says insurance payouts are generally excluded income (IRD: Insurance payouts). Check your own position with an adviser or IRD, and see who gets your life insurance payout.

A checklist for a stay-at-home mum or dad

  1. Price the five worksheet lines and total them.
  2. Check whether the working partner is insured for at least as much, since insurers ask.
  3. Decide whether you want cover in place without health questions (Quick Life, with its 2-year limits) or want to ask for underwritten terms.
  4. If you are healthy, ask an adviser for a fully underwritten quote for the same amount and compare the totals.
  5. Answer every question completely. IFSO has published cases where insurers avoided or cut claims for non-disclosure (IFSO).
  6. Keep any existing cover running until the new policy has started.

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 if you buy through our link; see how we are paid. Momentum Life Limited's A.M. Best financial strength rating is B (Fair), affirmed 11 February 2026, and Momentum's own table groups B in its "Vulnerable" range, so read its financial strength page first. The buttons on this page start Momentum's online quote, and you choose the amount. Details of the product are on the Quick Life page, and the guaranteed acceptance hub compares the options.

Frequently asked questions

Do you need an income to get life insurance in NZ?

No. Quick Life asks no income question, and Chubb's and Fidelity's guides both set homemaker limits for underwritten life cover. Income matters for income protection, not for life cover.

How much life insurance does a stay-at-home parent need?

It depends on what the family would have to pay for: childcare, household help, time off work for the surviving parent, joint debts and the funeral. The worksheet above totals those lines; the right figure is your own.

Is Quick Life enough for a stay-at-home parent?

It can fit a family whose worksheet total is under $300,000 and who want cover with no health questions. It excludes pre-existing conditions for 2 years, and someone in good health may get more cover for less underwritten.

Is a life insurance payout taxable?

Inland Revenue says insurance payouts are generally excluded income, which is not the same as a promise that yours is tax-free. An adviser or IRD can confirm your case.

References

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Explore related pages: Life Insurance, Income Protection, Health Insurance, Trauma Insurance, Compare Insurance NZ.