Southern Cross health and life insurance: different cover, different insurers
Southern Cross Health Society sells private health insurance: plans that pay towards medical, surgical and day-to-day healthcare while you are alive. Southern Cross-branded life insurance is a separate product, underwritten and administered by Chubb Life Insurance New Zealand Limited, that pays a lump sum when you die. A health plan does not replace life cover, and life cover does not pay for treatment.
In short
- Southern Cross Medical Care Society, trading as Southern Cross Health Society, describes itself as a "for-purpose Friendly Society", a licensed insurer and a licensed financial advice provider (Southern Cross).
- Southern Cross Life Insurance and Life & Living Insurance are promoted by Southern Cross Insurance Services Limited and "underwritten and administered by Chubb Life Insurance New Zealand Limited", which is responsible for all claims (Southern Cross Life: legal disclosure).
- They carry different financial strength grades because they are different insurers: the Society holds S&P A+ (Strong), and Chubb Life holds A.M. Best A (Excellent).
- Most families need to think about health cover, life cover, and sometimes trauma cover or income protection as separate questions.
Does Southern Cross offer life insurance alongside health insurance?
Both products carry the Southern Cross name, which is why they are easy to confuse. The Society's own financial-strength page describes the Society as "a licensed insurer and a licensed financial advice provider" and lists health insurance plans and critical illness insurance; it does not list life insurance (Southern Cross: financial strength, read 20 October 2026). The footer of its site links to a separate Southern Cross life insurance site.
That separate site describes Southern Cross Life Insurance and Life & Living Insurance as "underwritten and administered by Chubb Life Insurance New Zealand Limited (Chubb Life)", and its legal disclosure says Southern Cross receives a commission on policies sold (Southern Cross Life and legal disclosure, read 20 October 2026). The policy is Chubb Life's contract. So the S&P A+ (Strong) grade Southern Cross publishes belongs to the health society, and a Southern Cross life policy carries Chubb Life's own grade, A (Excellent) from A.M. Best (Chubb Life: financial strength).
The core distinction: private medical cover, life cover and trauma cover
The cleanest way to see the difference is by what triggers a payment and who receives it.
| Health insurance (such as the Society's plans) | Life cover | Trauma or critical illness cover | Income protection | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What triggers it | You need treatment | You die (many policies also pay on terminal illness) | You are diagnosed with a defined serious condition | You cannot work through illness or injury |
| What it pays | Part or all of the cost of eligible treatment, subject to the plan's limits | A lump sum | A lump sum | A monthly benefit |
| Who gets the money | The provider, or you as a reimbursement | Your owner or nominated beneficiary | You | You |
| When | While you are alive | After death | While you are alive | While you are alive |
| Example from the sources | Southern Cross plans pay a share of eligible costs | Chubb Life's Southern Cross policy offers Life Cover up to $1.5 million | The Society lists critical illness cover as an optional add-on to a health plan | Not described on the Southern Cross Life page we read |
Fidelity Life's definitions give the shape of the non-health covers: trauma "provides a lump sum payment if the life insured suffers from a defined serious illness or condition", total and permanent disability pays a lump sum if the person is "totally and permanently disabled and... unlikely to ever work again", and income protection is a monthly benefit towards replacement income when unable to work (Fidelity underwriting guide). The Insurance & Financial Services Ombudsman warns that trauma cover "will only cover certain specified life-threatening health conditions" (IFSO). ACC covers accidents but not illness; see what ACC covers.
What Southern Cross Health Society policies cover and exclude
The Society's plan page lists these plan families (Southern Cross: our plans, read 20 October 2026):
- Shared cover plans. KiwiCare covers up to 80% of the actual charges for eligible healthcare services, and RegularCare covers up to 80% of actual charges including day-to-day treatment. HealthEssentials covers up to 75% of eligible day-to-day costs. "Shared cover means you and Southern Cross each pay some of the costs", and the policy's excess and limits also apply.
- Surgical and healthcare plans. Wellbeing One and Wellbeing Two, and UltraCare and UltraCare 400 at the highest level of cover.
- Critical illness cover. The page says it "can also be purchased with your health insurance plan (excluding HealthEssentials)", subject to policy terms and eligibility. The plan page we read does not describe what it pays, so check the Society's own critical illness page before you rely on it.
Health insurance typically carries exclusions and waiting periods, and many plans treat pre-existing conditions differently. Read the plan documents for those. QuoteHub's Southern Cross health insurance page and its guide to nib versus Southern Cross go through the plans. None of the Society's pages we read describes a death benefit.
Can you get life cover through Southern Cross directly?
Yes, through its separate life site. The page offers an online quote and application, an optional face-scan application ("Apply by face"), and a standard application (Southern Cross Life, read 20 October 2026). It lists:
- Life Cover up to $1.5 million, paying the full Life Cover amount on death;
- a Bereavement Support Benefit, "an early payment on death of up to $25,000 of the Life Cover amount" for immediate costs such as funeral expenses, which is an early payment of the life cover, not a separate funeral policy;
- a 10% discount on Life & Living premiums (excluding the policy fee) for Southern Cross Health Society members who tell the team they are members, with member discount terms and conditions that may change.
Because it is Chubb Life's contract, the usual underwriting rules apply. Chubb's published guide shows a personal statement only up to $500,000 at every age band, with medical evidence rising from $500,001 at 61 and over, and more if you disclose a condition (Chubb underwriting guide, May 2025). Southern Cross says it does not guarantee Chubb Life's obligations. QuoteHub's Southern Cross Life page and Chubb Life page give more detail.
Why you may need separate policies for treatment and for death
A health plan answers one question: how will treatment be paid for? Life cover answers a different one: what happens to the people who depend on you if you die? Most families have both questions. Common gaps:
- Someone relies on your income. A health plan pays nothing to them if you die.
- There are debts. Debts in your name alone are generally paid from your estate rather than by your children, so cover sized to a mortgage matters. Quick Life, at $300,000 indexed to a $500,000 cap per person, cannot match a large mortgage alone.
- You could be unable to work but not die. That is the job of income protection or trauma cover, not life cover.
- You want to pay for a funeral. A small life or funeral policy pays a fixed sum, but it may not cover the whole cost. See funeral insurance.
For a longer comparison, read life insurance versus health insurance and life versus trauma insurance.
How to choose between an underwritten policy and guaranteed acceptance
Underwritten life cover, whether from Chubb Life's Southern Cross product or an adviser-placed insurer, asks about your health and prices it. A healthy person can usually get more cover for less this way. Guaranteed acceptance asks no health questions and suits people who would be declined or heavily loaded elsewhere, or who want cover in place without them. Both Momentum products restrict the first two years:
| Momentum Quick Life | Momentum Funeral Insurance | |
|---|---|---|
| Ages | 18 to 65 | 40 to 75 |
| Amount | $50,000 to $300,000 per life; 3% a year indexation to a $500,000 per-life cap | $3,000 to $30,000; accidental death pays 3 times the benefit |
| Health questions | None | None |
| First window | First 2 years: pre-existing conditions and suicide excluded; accidents and new conditions covered | First 24 months: accidental death only; any other death refunds all premiums paid |
| Premiums | Stepped to 75, then fixed | Fixed each year to the 89th birthday, then none |
Momentum Life Limited (FSP472286) issues both. Its A.M. Best rating is B (Fair), in the range Momentum's own table calls "Vulnerable", and its solvency ratio was 107% at 30 June 2026 (Momentum: Financial strength). Total premiums on a funeral policy can end up larger than the benefit, and the benefit may not cover a whole funeral. The details are in the Quick Life plan page, guaranteed acceptance versus full medical and the eligibility checker, and the no medical exam guide explains what that phrase means. The buttons on this page lead to Momentum's own information.
QuoteHub is a Momentum Life partner, and advice is provided by Craig Smith Business Services Limited, trading as Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver, a licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931), which may receive a commission if you buy through our link. See how we are paid.
Frequently asked questions
Is Southern Cross life insurance the same as Southern Cross health insurance?
No. Health insurance is the Society's product. The life product is underwritten and administered by Chubb Life Insurance New Zealand Limited and promoted by Southern Cross Insurance Services Limited.
Does Southern Cross health insurance pay if I die?
The Society's plan descriptions we read cover medical, surgical and day-to-day costs and optional critical illness; none describes a death benefit. A life policy is the product that pays on death.
Who decides a Southern Cross life insurance claim?
Chubb Life, which "is responsible for all claims and other matters relating to your policy" according to the legal disclosure. Southern Cross does not guarantee Chubb Life's obligations.
Do I need both health and life insurance?
They answer different questions, and whether you need one, both or neither depends on your finances, dependants and health. A licensed adviser can help work that out.
Is the Bereavement Support Benefit a funeral policy?
No. It is an early payment of up to $25,000 of the Life Cover amount, so it reduces the final payout.
References
- Southern Cross: Why choose us, retrieved 20 October 2026
- Southern Cross: Financial strength, retrieved 20 October 2026
- Southern Cross: Our plans, retrieved 20 October 2026
- Southern Cross Life Insurance, retrieved 20 October 2026
- Southern Cross Life: Legal disclosure, retrieved 20 October 2026
- Chubb Life: Financial strength, retrieved 20 October 2026
- Chubb: Essential underwriting guide (May 2025), retrieved 20 October 2026
- Fidelity Life: underwriting guide (October 2025), retrieved 20 October 2026
- IFSO: Life insurance, retrieved 20 October 2026
- Momentum Life: Financial strength, retrieved 20 October 2026
- Momentum Life: Funeral Insurance Policy Wording (17 August 2023), retrieved 17 October 2026
- Momentum Life: Quick Life Insurance Policy Wording (November 2025), retrieved 17 October 2026
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Explore related pages: Life Insurance, Income Protection, Health Insurance, Trauma Insurance, How Were Paid.