Can you get life insurance while unemployed in New Zealand?
Yes. Being unemployed or on a benefit does not by itself stop you applying for death cover in New Zealand. Momentum's Quick Life (ages 18 to 65) has no income or employment test in its wording and asks no health questions, but pre-existing conditions are excluded for the first 2 years. Funeral Insurance (ages 40 to 75) also has no health questions, but pays only for accidental death in the first 24 months. The real risk is affordability: if premiums go unpaid for over a month, Momentum can cancel.
In short
- Death cover does not depend on having a job. Income protection does: Fidelity Life and Chubb Life both expect at least 25 hours of work a week, so it is not available while you are out of work.
- Quick Life: ages 18 to 65, $50,000 to $300,000, stepped premiums that generally rise each year. Funeral Insurance: ages 40 to 75, $3,000 to $30,000, level premiums.
- Both products restrict the first two years, so a policy bought now will not pay for most deaths straight away.
- With Quick Life, cancelling or letting a policy lapse and rejoining restarts the 2-year restriction. With Funeral Insurance you reapply, and reinstatement after non-payment is not guaranteed.
- Saving, or doing nothing, is also a legitimate choice. The Work and Income Funeral Grant may help, with tests.
What does being unemployed change?
For death cover, very little. A life policy pays a lump sum to someone else, so insurers do not need your wages to calculate it. What the insurer cares about is your age, health (where it asks), smoking status and residency.
What changes is the cover that replaces earnings. Fidelity Life's underwriting guide says applicants must work a minimum of 25 hours a week to be considered for income protection (20 hours in some permanent part-time cases), and Chubb Life's guide sets the same 25-hour minimum. Both place "unemployed" in occupation class 5, shared with homemakers and students, and Fidelity Life tells advisers to contact its underwriter about non-working persons. Neither guide sets out terms specific to unemployed applicants (Fidelity Life, Chubb Life, both read 20 October 2026).
What does each Momentum product ask?
The table sets out the rules from the policy wordings, so you can see what is and is not tested. Momentum Life Limited issues both products.
| Quick Life | Funeral Insurance | |
|---|---|---|
| Ages | 18 to 65 | 40 to 75 |
| Amount | $50,000 to $300,000 (3% yearly increase to $500,000 per person, optional) | $3,000 to $30,000 |
| Income or employment test | None in the wording | None in the wording |
| Health questions | None | None |
| First window | 2 years: death related to a pre-existing condition, and suicide, are not paid; accidental death and new conditions are covered | 24 months: only accidental death (within 90 days of the accident) is paid; any other death refunds all premiums |
| Premiums | Stepped: re-set every year for age, gender and smoking status, then fixed from 75 | Level: fixed until the 89th birthday, then none (rate changeable for all policyholders on 30 days' notice) |
| Terminal illness | Paid if death is expected within 12 months | Not included |
| Residency | NZ or Australian citizen, permanent resident visa, or work visa with 6 months or more in NZ | NZ or Australian citizen, permanent resident visa, or a temporary work visa held for 12 continuous months in NZ |
Sources: Quick Life wording and Funeral Insurance wording, retrieved 17 October 2026. The wording sets no income test, but the application itself is Momentum's, so read what it asks before you submit. Quick Life's own page says it is not available to someone diagnosed with a terminal illness or in palliative or hospice care. Our Quick Life page and Funeral Insurance page set out each plan, and the eligibility checker tests age limits. Over 75, neither product accepts new applicants.
Do you need it at all?
Ask who would be left with a cost. If nobody depends on you and nobody would be left with your debts, you may not need life cover. Cover with a fixed lump sum is most useful when someone relies on you.
Funeral cover is a different question. This is not a savings or investment plan. Depending on how long you keep cover, the total premiums you pay could exceed the benefit, and the benefit may not cover the cost of a funeral. That is the warning in Momentum's own wording, and IFSO's note on a funeral insurance complaint puts it plainly: "It is not a savings product" (IFSO). Putting money aside is the other way to prepare, and it is a fair one. FDANZ's 2026 report gives an average of $4,700 for an unattended cremation, $11,700 for a full funeral with cremation for 50 guests and $14,300 with burial. Our funeral insurance hub and funeral cost calculator help you set the options against each other.
What will a premium really cost you?
Momentum publishes no funeral premium, and your own quote depends on your age, so the numbers below are labelled examples only, not a Momentum price. Use them to test your budget before you apply.
| If the monthly premium were | A year costs | Ten years costs | Compared with a $3,000 benefit |
|---|---|---|---|
| $15 | $180 | $1,800 | Lower |
| $25 | $300 | $3,000 | Equal |
| $40 | $480 | $4,800 | Higher |
A level premium (Funeral Insurance) is fixed each year until the 89th birthday, although Momentum can change the rate for everyone on the plan, on 30 days' notice, for a change in tax law or claims experience. A stepped premium (Quick Life) starts lower and generally rises every year, so the monthly figure you see on day one is the lowest it will be. Our guide to stepped versus level premiums explains the trade-off. A practical test: could you pay this premium on your lowest income month and still cover rent, power and food? If not, a smaller amount, or no policy yet, is the safer decision.
What happens if you stop paying?
This is where unemployment bites, so read it before you buy.
- Quick Life. Momentum can cancel the policy if premiums remain unpaid for over a month, after written notice. Paying later does not automatically reinstate it. A reinstated policy, or a cancel-and-rejoin, restarts the 2-year restriction, and if you cancel yourself, premiums already paid are not refunded. There is a 30-day free look from the policy start date with a full refund if no claim has been made.
- Funeral Insurance. Momentum may cancel if premiums are unpaid for over a month; reinstatement is by application and is not guaranteed. There is a 30-day free look from the acceptance date, and you can cancel later on 30 days' notice, losing the premiums paid, and you must reapply for cover if you change your mind.
- Policies you already hold. If you have underwritten cover and lose your job, do not cancel it first. The Financial Markets Authority says to keep the old policy running until a new one is in force, and to watch for new waiting periods, pre-existing exclusions and different premiums (FMA). A licensed adviser can look at the options, including reducing the amount.
Our guide to cancelling or changing life insurance covers the mechanics.
What other help is there?
If you cannot afford a policy, there is still help when a death happens. The Work and Income Funeral Grant has a maximum of $2,697.43 (as at 1 April 2026) and is non-taxable. It depends on who died, on income limits where the person was your partner or child, and on assets: where the person who died was not your partner or child, their assets are deducted from the funeral expenses. Work and Income's assessment guide counts life insurance proceeds and the total in a prepaid funeral account as cash assets, so other cover can reduce the grant. It does not pay the whole bill, and FDANZ reports that the average grant paid is about 90% of the maximum (Work and Income, FDANZ). Read our Funeral Grant guide before you assume the grant will cover the rest. For how a payout interacts with a benefit, see how a life insurance payout can affect a benefit.
If you are looking after children or a partner who stays home, read life insurance for stay-at-home parents. If you are on a benefit and over 40, our guide to funeral insurance on a benefit looks at the funeral side in more detail: funeral insurance on a benefit.
Who we are and how we are paid
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 advice. QuoteHub is a Momentum Life partner, and Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver may receive a commission if you buy a Momentum policy 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), affirmed on 11 February 2026. Momentum's own table puts B in its "Vulnerable" range, and the rating is not a recommendation; see its financial strength page. The buttons on this page open Momentum's online application; if the policy is not affordable, leaving them alone is a fair choice. Written by the QuoteHub Editorial Team and reviewed by the QuoteHub Adviser Team; last reviewed 20 October 2026. If a dispute arises with Momentum, you complain to Momentum first and then to IFSO, which is free.
Frequently asked questions
Can I get life insurance if I am on a benefit?
Nothing in the Quick Life or Funeral Insurance wordings makes a benefit a barrier. Each product has its own age, residency and early-claim rules, set out in the table above.
Will a life policy affect my benefit?
Work and Income's Funeral Grant assessment guide lists life insurance proceeds among the cash assets it counts. For how a payout interacts with a benefit you receive, check the guide linked above and ask Work and Income.
Can I get income protection while unemployed?
No. Both insurers whose guides we read expect at least 25 hours of work a week before they consider income protection.
What if I cannot keep up the premiums?
Contact the insurer or an adviser before you miss a payment. Momentum can cancel after a month of non-payment. With Quick Life, reinstating or rejoining restarts the 2-year restriction; with Funeral Insurance, reinstatement is not guaranteed and cancelling means reapplying.
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: Quick Life, retrieved 20 October 2026
- Momentum Life: Financial strength, retrieved 20 October 2026
- Work and Income: Funeral Grant, retrieved 20 October 2026
- Work and Income: Funeral Grant, definition of assets, retrieved 20 October 2026
- Fidelity Life: Underwriting guide (October 2025), retrieved 20 October 2026
- Chubb Life: Essential Underwriting Guide (May 2025), retrieved 20 October 2026
- IFSO: Funeral insurance case study, retrieved 20 October 2026
- Financial Markets Authority: Insurance, retrieved 20 October 2026
- FDANZ: 2026 New Zealand Funeral Industry Trends Report (PDF), retrieved 20 October 2026
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