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

Life insurance options after age 65

Yes, you can still get cover over 65 in New Zealand, but the choices narrow. Momentum Life's Quick Life takes applicants aged 18 to 65 only, so from 66 its guaranteed-acceptance option is Funeral Insurance, which accepts ages 40 to 75. Other insurers publish funeral cover to 79 or 80 and some life cover with health questions to 75 or beyond. Acceptance on cover with health questions is the insurer's decision.

In short

What changes at 65: entry ages by product

An entry age is the oldest age at which an insurer says it will take a new application. It is a limit, not an offer. These are the limits the insurers publish, read between 17 and 20 October 2026.

Product Published entry age Open to a new applicant aged 66? Years left to the limit
Momentum Life, Quick Life 18 to 65 No Closed
Momentum Life, Funeral Insurance 40 to 75 Yes 9
NZ Seniors and OneChoice, funeral cover 18 to 79 Yes 13
AA Life, Funeral Cover 50 to 79 Yes 13
Chubb Life, Funeral Cover 50 to 80 Yes 14
Unity, funeral cover 18 to 75 Yes 9
Greenwich Life, Funeral Plan 30 to 70 Yes 4
AIA Living, Life Cover and Chubb, Assurance Extra Life Cover 10 to 70 Yes, with health assessment 4
Fidelity Life, life cover 16 to 75, no expiry age Yes, with health assessment 9
NZ Seniors Life 45 to 79 Yes, eight health questions by phone 13
Golden Insurance 40 to 80 Yes, health and lifestyle questions 14

The funeral products listed ask no health questions; the others assess your health. "Years left" counts from 66 to the published limit, so a limit of 75 leaves 9 years. Sources are the insurers' own pages and wordings, listed in the references. Quick Life is already closed at 66, and the Greenwich plan, AIA life cover and Chubb life cover close at 70.

Why Quick Life stops at 65 and Funeral Insurance does not

Quick Life is life cover of $50,000 to $300,000 for ages 18 to 65, with premiums that rise each year until 75. Its wording says that if the correct age at the cover start date was over 65, the policy is void from the start and all premiums are refunded (Momentum Life: Quick Life Policy Wording). The test is the correct age at the cover start date, so ask Momentum how it treats someone who turns 66 close to the application date before you rely on a date. Quick Life excludes pre-existing conditions and suicide for the first 2 years, and some dangerous jobs and pastimes are always excluded.

Funeral Insurance is a smaller product: a benefit of $3,000 to $30,000, ages 40 to 75, premiums level until the 89th birthday and then none, with cover continuing for life (Momentum Life: Funeral Insurance Policy Wording). Momentum does not say why the two ages differ. The wordings show the structural difference: Quick Life pays a larger sum on stepped premiums that rise each year until 75, while Funeral Insurance pays a smaller sum on a level premium.

The 24-month rule for funeral cover, in plain words

Every guaranteed-acceptance funeral policy limits what it pays early on. For Momentum Funeral Insurance:

Total premiums can end up larger than the benefit, and the benefit may not cover the whole funeral. Other insurers differ on both the length of the window and what happens to premiums:

Insurer Window for non-accident death Premiums refunded in the window Premiums stop
Momentum Life 24 months Yes, all 89th birthday
NZ Seniors and OneChoice 12 months No (OneChoice: no refund after the cooling-off period) Age 85
AA Life 24 months Yes, 100% Anniversary after the 90th birthday
Chubb Life 24 months Yes, 100% Claim, age 90 or long-term care

A shorter window means less time with limited cover, while a refund of all premiums matters if you die inside the window. Neither rule is better on its own, so read each wording: the early-window rules are the main way these products differ. Our guide to the refund in the first 24 months goes into this.

Cover with health questions after 65

After 65 the underwritten field is small: AIA and Chubb life cover stop at 70, Fidelity at 75, and the phone-assessed and health-question products run to 79 or 80 (see the table above). Acceptance and terms are the insurer's decision on your health, and a licensed adviser can ask several insurers at once. Our age-band guides for the years just before and after, life insurance over 60 and life insurance over 70, cover the underwriting detail.

Answer every question completely. An IFSO case note shows an insurer reducing a claim after a non-disclosure finding, and a policy bought on incomplete answers may not pay in full (IFSO).

What does cover cost after 65?

QuoteHub's Premium Index prices ages up to 65 and none above, so we publish no range for 66 or over. For reference, at 65 the indicative monthly cost of $500,000 of stepped life cover for a non-smoker, from insurers' published rate cards as at 8 September 2026, ran from about $625 to $725 for a man and $400 to $475 for a woman across the insurers that priced it. These are class 1 occupation, standard rates and include no loadings; your own premium depends on underwriting. See the Premium Index method and life insurance rate ranges.

For funeral cover, Momentum publishes no premium and nor do most insurers. AA Life publishes one: from $14.28 a week for $10,000 of cover for a 66-year-old female AA Member non-smoker, on its page read on 20 October 2026 (AA Life: Funeral cover). That is one profile and one date, not a typical price. Independent sites show funeral insurance prices roughly doubling between 50 and 70 (Moneyhub).

Stepped premiums rise every year, so the cost of life cover at 66 is the cost at 66 and then more each year after. Momentum's Quick Life is closed to you, but its Funeral Insurance premium is level until the 89th birthday, though Momentum can change it for everyone on the same offer on 30 days' written notice. For the difference between the two shapes, read stepped versus level premiums.

A decision path at 65

  1. Does anyone depend on your income or care? If a partner relies on it, ask a licensed adviser about life cover while you can still apply.
  2. Is the aim a funeral fund? Then compare the sums. The FDANZ 2026 report gives an average of $11,700 for a full cremation funeral for 50 guests and $14,300 with burial. A benefit of $3,000 to $30,000 is a fixed amount towards that, not the whole cost.
  3. Can you save the money instead? Funeral cover is not a savings plan. Premiums you pay and never claim on are gone. A death from illness inside the 24-month window pays no benefit at Momentum, although the premiums are refunded. See funeral insurance versus saving for a funeral.
  4. Would a prepaid plan fit better? Now For Them, the FDANZ prepaid plan, pays no interest, and its page says the first $10,000 is excluded from residential care asset testing under current Ministry of Social Development policy (FDANZ). The Funeral Grant maximum is $2,697.43, but prepaid funeral cover can stop you getting it (Work and Income).
  5. Are you near a cut-off? Funeral Insurance closes to new applicants after 75, and the next age bands are in life insurance over 70 and funeral insurance over 65.

Use the guaranteed acceptance eligibility checker to test product age limits. For the ages before this one, see life insurance over 60.

Momentum Life and your choices

Momentum Life's financial strength rating from A.M. Best is B (Fair), which sits in Momentum's own "Vulnerable" range; its solvency ratio was 107% at 30 June 2026 (Momentum Life: Financial strength). 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. Over 65, only the Funeral Insurance button fits your age; Quick Life will not accept a new applicant over 65. See Momentum's Funeral Insurance page for the full rules.

Frequently asked questions

Can I get life insurance at 66?

Not from Momentum Quick Life. Momentum's Funeral Insurance takes ages 40 to 75, and other insurers publish life cover with health questions to 75 or beyond (Fidelity to 75, NZ Seniors Life to 79, Golden Insurance to 80). Acceptance on those is the insurer's decision.

Is there any guaranteed-acceptance life cover over 65?

Funeral cover is guaranteed acceptance up to 75 with Momentum, 79 with NZ Seniors, OneChoice and AA Life, and 80 with Chubb Life. The early-death window applies. We found no guaranteed-acceptance life product above 65 on the insurers' pages we read.

What is the cheapest life insurance for over 65?

There is no single cheapest option that holds for everyone. Cost depends on your age, health, smoker status and the amount, and insurers price differently. Compare in writing, with the same cover amount and the same benefit terms.

What happens to Quick Life when I turn 75?

Premiums become fixed, indexation stops, and $20,000 of the benefit becomes free: the policy owner can elect a free $20,000 funeral benefit or continue Quick Life with the free component.

References

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