What medical exams and blood tests can life insurers ask for?
New Zealand life insurers ask for a medical exam or blood tests mainly when the total cover you apply for passes a threshold that rises with age, or when your answers show a condition that needs checking. Chubb Life and Fidelity Life both publish that up to $500,000 they need only an application form or personal statement at every age.
In short
- The thresholds below are minimums from two insurers' underwriting guides. A condition you disclose can trigger more, and the insurer keeps the right to ask for different evidence.
- "No medical exam" and "no health questions" are different things. Fully underwritten cover below an insurer's threshold usually still asks health questions; Momentum's Quick Life asks none.
- Momentum's Quick Life takes no medical exam and asks no health questions, but pre-existing conditions are excluded for the first 2 years.
- Whatever the form asks, answer it completely. Insurers can reduce or decline a claim over information that was left out.
What counts as a medical exam or blood test?
A medical exam is an examination by your own GP or by a nurse, and a blood test is a lab test on a sample you give. Insurers also ask for your medical notes. Fidelity Life's underwriting guide defines the common terms: a GP medical is a report and exam from your own doctor; a paramedical is an exam by a nurse that typically includes blood pressure, body measurements, peak flow and a urine sample; and a PMAR (Personal Medical Attendant Report) is your medical notes, "usually covering a specific period, as determined by the underwriter, based on a customer's disclosure" (Fidelity Life underwriting guide, October 2025).
| Test | What it checks (from Fidelity's guide) |
|---|---|
| HbA1c | Average blood sugar over 3 months; used to check for diabetes and how well it is managed |
| Lipids | Cholesterol and other fats in the blood |
| LFTs | How well the liver is working |
| FBC and creatinine | Types and number of blood cells; kidney function |
| Hep B, Hep C, HIV | Past or current infection with those viruses |
| Exercise ECG or calcium score | Heart tests, asked for at the largest amounts |
| PSA, mammogram | Prostate blood test; breast X-ray, in the highest bands for people 45 and over |
Insurers bundle these into numbered "codes". Chubb Life's Code A is a GP medical or paramedical exam (or a PMAR), plus HbA1c, lipids and liver tests (Chubb Life Essential Underwriting Guide, May 2025). Fidelity's Code A is the same tests with a GP medical or paramedical. Higher codes add more blood tests and then a heart test.
When can an insurer require tests?
The first trigger is the amount. Both insurers add up the total cover with them, including cover already in force plus the new application, and use the highest code any one cover type needs. Below, "form" means an application form or personal statement with no mandatory medical evidence.
Chubb Life, life cover (by age at application)
| Total cover | 0 to 45 | 46 to 50 | 51 to 60 | 61 and over |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Up to $500,000 | Form | Form | Form | Form |
| $500,001 to $750,000 | Form | Form | Form | Code A |
| $1,000,001 to $1,500,000 | Form | Form | Code A | Code A |
| $1,500,001 to $2,000,000 | Form | Code A | Code A | Code A |
| $2,500,001 to $3,000,000 | Code A | Code A | Code A | Code B |
| $3,000,001 to $4,000,000 | Code B | Code B | Code B | Code C |
Fidelity Life, life cover (by age at application)
| Total cover | 0 to 45 | 46 to 50 | 51 to 55 | 56 to 60 | 61 and over |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Up to $500,000 | Form | Form | Form | Form | Form |
| $500,001 to $1,000,000 | Form | Form | Form | Form | Code A |
| $1,000,001 to $1,500,000 | Form | Form | Code A | Code A | Code A |
| $1,500,001 to $2,000,000 | Form | Form | Code B | Code B | Code B |
| $2,500,001 to $3,000,000 | Code B | Code B | Code B | Code B | Code C |
Both tables are cut down from the guides, which have more rows. Fidelity's guide is marked for adviser use and calls itself "a guideline"; Chubb's is the insurer's own published guide. Neither is a promise about your application, and other insurers have their own tables.
The second trigger is build. On Chubb's guide, a BMI under 18 may need more information, 18 to 36.9 has no mandatory medical requirement "though a loading for BMI may still apply", and 37 or above needs a build exam and non-fasting blood tests. The third trigger is what you disclose. Chubb says it "reserves the right to ask for updated information" where, for example, you have a disclosed pre-existing condition, and Fidelity says it may require different information from its guideline. A PMAR is defined by what you disclose, so what you declare shapes which notes the underwriter asks for.
Underwritten cover, no-exam cover and guaranteed acceptance
These are three different ways of getting cover without a blood test.
| Who asks health questions | Tests | Early limits | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fully underwritten, under the insurer's threshold | The insurer, by form or phone | None required unless the answers call for them | Terms (loading, exclusion, postponement) set per person |
| Momentum Quick Life | Nobody: acceptance is guaranteed for ages 18 to 65, with no health questions or medical exams | None | First 2 years: pre-existing conditions and suicide excluded |
| Momentum Funeral Insurance | Nobody: ages 40 to 75, no medicals or health questions | None | First 24 months: accidental death only |
Fully underwritten cover below a threshold is the "no medical exam" cover most people mean, and it still depends on honest answers. Quick Life prices on age, gender, smoking status and benefit amount, not health (Momentum Life: Quick Life Insurance Policy Wording, November 2025). The trade-off is the 2-year wait, and Momentum's site says it is not available to applicants diagnosed with a terminal illness or in palliative or hospice care. A healthy person can usually get more cover for less through fully underwritten cover with an adviser. Funeral Insurance is a fixed $3,000 to $30,000 benefit; total premiums can exceed the benefit and the benefit may not cover a whole funeral. Our pages on no medical exam life insurance, life insurance without a blood test and the two-year exclusion go further.
What if a test shows something you did not know about?
A new finding is information the insurer then weighs. Asteron says that even with a condition it can usually still offer cover by adding a stand-down period, raising the premium, or excluding the condition permanently or for a set time (Asteron). Fidelity's guide says its pre-assessment "is not an offer of cover". Blood test results stay valid for 12 months unless they are abnormal, in which case Chubb and Fidelity both require a repeat. Nothing here predicts what an insurer will do with a given result; terms vary by insurer and person, and a decline is possible. See premium loadings for how loadings work.
Two cautions. First, the Chubb guide says it will not ask an applicant to take a genetic test, and it does not use family members' genetic results, although it does underwrite an applicant's own existing genetic test results. Second, telling the truth matters after the application too: IFSO has published cases where insurers reduced or avoided cover over history that was not disclosed, including a stroke claim paid at reduced terms after retrospective 50% loadings (IFSO). From 15 November 2027 (not yet in force) the Contracts of Insurance Act 2024 replaces the broad duty with a duty to take reasonable care (FMA). Until then, disclose everything the form asks.
How to prepare if the insurer asks for your records
- Write down your conditions, medicines, tests and specialists from the past few years before you start the form.
- Check the date on any recent blood test or exam: Chubb and Fidelity both treat them as valid for 12 months.
- Expect the insurer to ask your GP for notes. Read what you sign: our guide to whether insurers can access your medical records explains the authority and your right to see the same file.
- If you smoke or vape, note that Chubb and Fidelity both need 12 months without tobacco or nicotine replacement for non-smoker rates, and Momentum needs 24 consecutive months.
- Keep any existing policy running until a new one is in force, as the FMA advises (FMA).
For the wider process, read how insurance underwriting works and how to compare insurance quotes. Test the product age limits with the guaranteed acceptance eligibility checker, and see the guaranteed acceptance hub and the Quick Life page. The buttons on this page open Momentum's own online application, which is its product, not a quote for fully underwritten cover.
Who we are
General information, not advice. 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 and our disclosure. Momentum Life Limited's A.M. Best financial strength rating is B (Fair), affirmed 11 February 2026, and Momentum's own table puts B in its "Vulnerable" range (Momentum Life: Financial strength). A rating is an opinion, not a recommendation. Last reviewed 20 October 2026 against the sources below.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a blood test for life insurance in NZ?
Not always. On the published Chubb Life and Fidelity guides, cover up to $500,000 needs only an application form or personal statement at every age. Above that, the age and total cover decide, and disclosed conditions can add requirements.
What is the difference between no medical exam and no health questions?
No medical exam means no physical exam or tests; the insurer may still ask health questions on a form or by phone. No health questions means none are asked at all, as with Momentum's Quick Life and Funeral Insurance, which trade that for an early-claim limit.
Does Quick Life ask for a blood test?
No. Quick Life takes no medical exam and asks no health questions. Pre-existing conditions and suicide are excluded for the first 2 years.
Who pays for the tests?
The guides we read do not say, so ask the insurer or your adviser before you book anything.
References
- Chubb Life: Essential Underwriting Guide v8 (May 2025), retrieved 20 October 2026
- Fidelity Life: Quick reference underwriting guide (October 2025), retrieved 20 October 2026
- 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
- Asteron Life: Insurance options for pre-existing conditions, retrieved 20 October 2026
- IFSO: Non-disclosure case, retrieved 20 October 2026
- FMA: Contracts of Insurance Act 2024, retrieved 20 October 2026
- FMA: Insurance, retrieved 20 October 2026
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