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

What does term to age 90 life insurance mean?

"Term to age 90" describes how long cover for an existing policy can run. It does not tell you the age you can buy it. New cover in New Zealand closes far earlier: the highest entry age we found is 80, and Momentum Life's Funeral Insurance takes new applicants only to 75, with premiums stopping on the 89th birthday.

In short

A "term" in life insurance is the period a policy is set to run. The words "to age 90" are the end point of that period, so a policy "to age 90" would stop paying out for deaths after the 90th birthday. That is a different thing from the oldest age at which you may apply (the entry age) and from the age at which you stop paying (the premium-stop age). Mixing these up leads people to think they can buy cover at 85 because a policy runs to 90. In New Zealand they cannot, and the age gap between entry and expiry is the whole point of this page. We set out the three ages, show the published figures for each product we could read, and explain what happens around the 89th and 90th birthdays. For the entry-age picture at older ages, see our guides to life insurance over 75 and over 85.

Entry age, premium-stop age and expiry age

Age What it means Where to find it
Entry age The oldest age you can be when you apply Product page and policy wording
Premium-stop age The age after which you no longer pay premiums Policy wording ("no premiums from...")
Expiry age The age at which cover ends, with or without a payout Policy schedule

A product can have an entry age of 75, a premium-stop age of 89 and no expiry age at all. That is exactly how Momentum's Funeral Insurance is built, and it is why "term" is a poor word for it.

What the published ages actually are

The table shows what each insurer publishes, read from their own pages and wordings between 17 and 20 October 2026. It is a sample of what we could read, not a complete market list.

Product Entry age Premiums stop Cover ends
Momentum Life, Funeral Insurance 40 to 75 89th birthday Continues for life
Momentum Life, Quick Life 18 to 65 Stepped to 75, then fixed Wording describes cover for life
AA Life, Funeral Cover (Asteron Life) 50 to 79 Anniversary after the 90th birthday Continues "at no extra cost" after premiums stop
Chubb Life, Funeral Cover 50 to 80 At 90, at claim, or on entering long-term care Not stated as an expiry
NZ Seniors and OneChoice, funeral cover (Pinnacle Life) 18 to 79 85 Not stated as an expiry
Greenwich Funeral Plan (Autosure) 30 to 70 When total paid equals the benefit Continues after premiums stop
Fidelity Life, life cover 16 to 75 Premiums are paid while cover runs "No expiry age"
AIA Living, Life Cover 10 to 70 Premiums are paid while cover runs "No Expiry"
Chubb Life, Assurance Extra Life Cover 10 to 70 Premiums are paid while cover runs Never expires

Sources are in the References. The ages are the insurers' published limits, and an entry age is a limit, not an offer: insurers with health questions decide who they accept. Where a table cell says "not stated as an expiry", that means we did not find an expiry age on the insurer's page, not that none exists in the wording. Funeral entry ages and stop ages are from each insurer's own funeral page.

What happens around your 89th and 90th birthdays

On Momentum Funeral Insurance, the wording says the premium rate stays the same each year until the Life Insured reaches their 89th birthday, at which time premium payments stop, and the cover continues for life. Cover for a death from any cause is paid only after the first 24 months; before that, an accidental death (within 90 days of the accident) is paid and any other death pays nothing, with all premiums for that person refunded. Momentum can change the premium rate for everyone on a plan for a change in tax or law, or for claims experience significantly different from expected, on 30 days' written notice. So "fixed" means fixed in the ordinary course, not guaranteed for all time.

On the funeral products with a 90 in their terms the position differs. AA Life says premiums run to the anniversary after the 90th birthday. Chubb Life says premiums stop at 90, when a claim is paid, or when the person enters long-term care. NZ Seniors and OneChoice stop at 85. The Greenwich Funeral Plan stops when the total paid equals the benefit, the only product we found where premiums cannot exceed the payout. These are published terms, not recommendations; compare them with the benefit and the early window for your own age.

On the insurer behind the 89: Momentum Life Limited holds an A.M. Best financial strength rating of B (Fair), affirmed on 11 February 2026, which Momentum's own table groups under "vulnerable". Cover that runs for life is a long commitment, so the insurer's rating and solvency are worth reading on Momentum's financial strength page.

Do stepped premiums keep rising as you approach 90?

For a stepped life policy, yes: a stepped premium is re-priced each year for age, and the FMA says most premiums rise annually with age or inflation (FMA: Insurance). We publish no range for ages past 65, because the QuoteHub Premium Index stops there, and no insurer we read publishes a premium for someone in their late 80s. Momentum's Quick Life is stepped to 75 and then fixed. A product with a fixed rate, such as Momentum's Funeral Insurance, does not step up with age, though the rate can still change for everyone on a plan, as above.

Here is a worked example using round numbers that are not a Momentum or any other insurer's price. Suppose a level premium of $100 a month ($1,200 a year) buys a $10,000 benefit.

Step Arithmetic
Years of premiums if you start at 70 and stop at 89 19 years
Total paid 19 x $1,200 = $22,800
Benefit $10,000
Year in which total paid passes the benefit after about 8 years and 4 months ($10,000 / $1,200)

If you died before that point (and after the first 24 months, when only accidental death is paid) the benefit exceeds what you paid. After it, total premiums exceed the benefit. This is not a savings or investment plan, and the benefit may not cover the cost of a whole funeral. The IFSO published a case of a 2010 funeral policy with premiums payable to age 90: premiums exceeded the sum insured, nothing in the policy warned of it, and the insurer refunded all premiums (IFSO: Funeral insurance). Our funeral insurance break-even calculator lets you enter your own numbers.

Can you extend or convert life cover past 90?

We found no insurer that publishes a rule for extending a life policy past 90, and none that sells new life cover at that age. Asteron Life lists a "funeral conversion" benefit on its life insurance page without an amount or conditions (Asteron Life), and AIA's Life Cover carries early funeral money, but whether either lets you move a large policy into a smaller lifetime one is a question for the policy wording. Ask your insurer in writing.

When does keeping cover into your late 80s make sense?

It makes sense when the payout still has a job: a funeral bill that savings cannot meet, or an estate obligation. It makes less sense if the premium for a small benefit has already passed the benefit. Compare the total, the early window and the alternatives. Funeral insurance versus a prepaid funeral sets out the other routes, and our funeral insurance hub covers what each product pays. If you hold a large term policy, read term life insurance in retirement first.

Where QuoteHub fits

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. Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver may receive a commission if you buy through our link; see our disclosure and how we are paid. Momentum's online quote is available through the buttons on this page. Funeral Insurance is open to New Zealanders aged 40 to 75 and Quick Life to those aged 18 to 65, so neither is open to someone in their late 70s or 80s; our guide to Momentum Life's Funeral Cover has the full rules. This page was drafted by the QuoteHub Editorial Team with AI assistance, from the sources listed below, and reviewed by the QuoteHub Adviser Team.

Frequently asked questions

What does term to age 90 mean?

It means a policy's cover is set to run until the insured person reaches 90. It says nothing about the age at which you can apply, and no New Zealand insurer we read sells new cover at 89.

Can I buy life insurance at 89?

We found no New Zealand product open to a new applicant that old. The highest published entry age was 80, for Chubb Life's Funeral Cover and Golden Insurance. See funeral insurance over 80.

Do funeral insurance premiums stop at 90?

It depends on the product. Momentum's stop at the 89th birthday, AA Life's at the anniversary after the 90th, Chubb Life's at 90, and NZ Seniors' and OneChoice's at 85.

Does cover end when the premiums stop?

On Momentum's Funeral Insurance, no: cover continues for life. Check the wording for any other product.

References

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