nib Life Insurance NZ: Life and Living Cover
nib's life insurance is called Life & Living Insurance and is issued and underwritten by nib nz limited, separate from its health insurance. It has Life cover (ages 18 to 70) and Living cover (trauma, income and redundancy; ages 18 to 60), plus a $15,000 funeral payment with every policy. It is underwritten, so your health and lifestyle answers decide the terms.
In short
- nib is mainly known in New Zealand for health insurance. Life & Living is a different set of policies that pay on death, serious illness or loss of income, not for treatment costs.
- Every Life & Living policy includes a complimentary Funeral Expenses payment of $15,000, but it is not a standalone funeral policy and ends when your other cover ends.
- The cover is underwritten, with stand-down periods: 90 days for defined cancers under trauma cover, and 30 days under income cover.
- nib nz limited holds a rating of A (Strong) from S&P Global, as nib publishes it. QuoteHub's advisers do not place life cover with nib; nib appears on QuoteHub's panel for health insurance only.
nib's health cover versus its life cover
Searchers often mix these up. They are different products.
- nib health insurance is nib's range of health plans. We compare it with Southern Cross in nib vs Southern Cross health insurance.
- nib Life & Living Insurance is what this page covers. It pays a lump sum or a monthly amount on death, a defined serious illness, or illness that stops you working, and it is underwritten on your health and lifestyle answers.
nib's site keeps the two apart, with its own life and living pages and its own life and living claim route.
What Life & Living includes
The covers below come from nib's Life & Living cover wording and fact sheet (wording reference nib410505), read on 20 October 2026.
| Cover | Entry age | What it pays | Key limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life cover | 18 to 70 | A lump sum on death, or on terminal illness expected to lead to death within 12 months (two specialists must confirm) | Self-inflicted harm excluded for the first 13 months; cover ends at the anniversary after age 100 |
| Serious Illness Trauma cover | 18 to 60 | A lump sum for defined conditions; up to $1 million insured | Low-severity events pay 25% of the amount, up to $50,000 per payment; a high-severity event pays 100% and ends the cover; no cover for defined cancers in the first 90 days |
| Income Protection Illness cover | 18 to 60 | A monthly amount if illness stops you working: 55% of gross income, up to $6,000 a month, for two or five years | You must have been working at least 25 hours a week for one employer; no cover for the first 30 days, and you must be off work for 30 consecutive days; payments come in arrears |
| Redundancy cover | 18 to 60 | Up to six months of monthly payments after redundancy | Only available with Income Protection Illness cover |
| Funeral Expenses cover | With your other cover | A single $15,000 payment on death or terminal illness | Complimentary; does not increase with indexation; ends when all other cover ends |
Trauma cover ends at the anniversary after age 65, and the cover amounts rise each year with the Consumer Price Index, by at least 1% and no more than 7%. The automatic increases stop at 65 for Life cover and at 60 for the Living covers, and they stop altogether if you have made a claim. The fact sheet says you can apply for any amount of Life cover, although any decision to accept your application is nib's. That list is a summary; the wording sets out all benefits, exclusions and conditions.
Two points about the $15,000 payment are easy to miss. The wording says paying it "doesn't guarantee acceptance of a Life cover claim", and you or your estate must repay it within 30 days if nib later declines the Life cover claim or avoids the policy.
How underwriting works
nib's page on Life & Living says you complete an application online or by phone and answer health and lifestyle questions. Some applicants may be accepted straight away, and in other cases nib may contact you or your doctor. Personal exclusions can be added based on your answers, and nib says these are disclosed before you go ahead. While your application is being assessed, you have Temporary Accidental Death Cover.
Your answers matter after you buy. The wording says nib may cancel or avoid the policy, or decline a claim, if information you gave was incorrect or incomplete, or if you knew something relevant and did not tell nib, "unless the law says otherwise". Answer fully. Our guide to claims explains why non-disclosure is the most common reason claims fail.
Cost and indexation
nib publishes no prices for Life & Living; it offers an online estimator tool and a "Request a call" option. The wording says premiums are not fixed, include an annual policy administration fee, and "will usually increase each year" as the person insured grows older. Cover also rises with indexation, which raises the premium too. For an idea of what stepped life cover costs across insurers, see QuoteHub's Premium Index, which shows ranges as at 8 September 2026 and does not include nib.
Free look and cancelling
You have a 30-day free look period, starting at the Life & Living start date, and nib refunds the premiums if you cancel in it. After that, you can cancel any time, but premiums are not refunded. Unpaid premiums over two payment dates in a row let nib cancel the policy.
Contact and claims
| Need | Detail |
|---|---|
| Life & Living sales | 0800 555 642, option 1, Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm; [email protected] |
| Claims | 0800 555 642, option 2, Monday to Friday 8:30am to 5pm |
| Notice of a claim | As soon as possible, and within six months of when you first became entitled to claim |
| Complaints | Contact nib first; unresolved complaints can go to the Insurance & Financial Services Ombudsman |
Sources: nib: Life and living contact page; nib: Claim on your life and living cover; the cover wording. nib's claims page lists no forms; it asks you to phone. The wording says nib may ask for medical information, that you pay the initial cost of providing it, and that assessment can be delayed if you do not give the authorities nib needs.
If you are claiming after a death, the order of the first weeks is covered in our guides on who to notify after a death and how a life insurance payout works.
Through Kiwibank
nib says on its Life and living page that it has been Kiwibank's partner since 2022, and that page links an FAQ page for Kiwibank customers. Kiwibank's own page says nib nz limited pays Kiwibank fees for referring customers, and it describes the same $15,000 Funeral Expenses payment (Kiwibank).
Who issues it and how strong is the insurer?
nib nz limited issues and underwrites nib's Life & Living products and is, in the fact sheet's words, "the only organisation responsible for claims under the cover". nib states that nib nz limited has "an A (Strong) Financial Strength Rating from S&P Global Ratings Australia Pty Ltd" (nib: Financial strength). That is S&P's scale, on which A is "Strong"; it is not the same scale as A.M. Best's. nib pays financial advisers commission and says its nominated representatives are salaried but may also receive bonuses based on the policies they sell. Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver, which runs QuoteHub, is a commission-paid adviser too; see how we are paid and our disclosure.
nib compared with guaranteed acceptance cover
nib's cover asks health questions and can exclude or decline. Guaranteed acceptance cover asks none, but restricts cover for the first period. Momentum Life's Quick Life is one example: no health questions at application, in return for a 2-year exclusion of pre-existing conditions and suicide (ages 18 to 65, $50,000 to $300,000 per life at the start). Acceptance of an underwritten policy is not assured, but a healthy applicant can often get more cover, or cheaper cover, that way. Momentum Life Limited holds a rating of B (Fair) from A.M. Best, and its own table places B in its "Vulnerable" range (Momentum Life: Financial strength). QuoteHub is a Momentum Life partner and may receive a commission; the Momentum Life buttons on this page lead to Momentum's own application. See guaranteed acceptance, the Quick Life page, and the Momentum Life page. Compare more insurers on our life insurers page.
Frequently asked questions
Is nib life insurance the same as nib health insurance?
No. Health insurance pays towards treatment. Life & Living pays a lump sum or income on death, defined serious illness or illness that stops you working.
Does nib sell funeral insurance?
Not as a standalone policy that we found. Every Life & Living policy includes a $15,000 Funeral Expenses payment, which ends when your other cover ends.
Does nib require a medical?
nib's page describes health and lifestyle questions and, where needed, contact with your doctor. It does not describe a medical exam as a standard step.
What is the nib life insurance phone number?
0800 555 642. Option 1 is Life & Living sales (Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm) and option 2 is claims (Monday to Friday 8:30am to 5pm).
References
- nib: Life and living insurance, retrieved 20 October 2026
- nib: About life and living insurance, retrieved 20 October 2026
- nib: Life & Living Insurance cover wording (PDF), retrieved 20 October 2026
- nib: Life & Living Insurance fact sheet (PDF), retrieved 20 October 2026
- nib: Contact us for life and living, retrieved 20 October 2026
- nib: Claim on your life and living cover, retrieved 20 October 2026
- nib: Financial strength and financial advice, retrieved 20 October 2026
- Kiwibank: Life insurance, retrieved 20 October 2026
- Momentum Life: Financial strength, retrieved 20 October 2026
Read the full insurance guides
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Explore related pages: Life Insurance, Income Protection, Health Insurance, Trauma Insurance, Referral.