When should you first get life insurance?
There is no single best age to buy life insurance in New Zealand. The need starts when someone depends on your income, or when you take on debt that someone else would have to repay, and that can be at 25 or at 55. Healthy adults buying earlier are usually assessed more cheaply, while people in their 50s and 60s often weigh full cover against guaranteed-acceptance options, which carry a restriction in the first two years.
In short
- Buy when you have an obligation, not at a set age: a mortgage, children, a partner who relies on your pay, or a business debt.
- Entry ages differ by product: Momentum Life's Quick Life takes ages 18 to 65, its Funeral Insurance 40 to 75, and the underwritten covers we checked run to 70 or 75.
- Stepped premiums are re-priced every year, so buying early does not lock in today's rate. What it does lock in is your insurability, because a condition that appears later cannot be un-diagnosed.
- Guaranteed acceptance means no health questions, not full cover from day one: in the first two years Quick Life excludes pre-existing conditions and suicide.
The need follows obligations, not birthdays
Life insurance pays a lump sum when the person insured dies. It only does a job if someone would be worse off without that sum. A single 28-year-old with no debts and no dependants has little to insure. The same person at 30 with a new mortgage and a partner on one income has a clear reason. Ask four questions, in this order:
- Does anyone rely on your income?
- Are there debts someone else would have to carry, or a home loan that would outlast your income?
- Would your family need money for a funeral and the first months of bills?
- Could the people who depend on you manage without a lump sum?
If the answer to all four is no, waiting is a reasonable choice. Our guides on how much life insurance you need and life insurance with a home loan go through the amounts.
Life stage by life stage
20s and 30s: first home, partner, young children. This is when most people have the first real obligation. A mortgage is usually the largest debt, and young children add years of dependence. Healthy people in this band are assessed at the lowest ages, so cover costs less in dollar terms.
40s and 50s: peak debt, growing health risks. Mortgages and school costs often peak here, while the chance of a health condition appearing rises.
60s and 70s: the focus shifts. Debts usually fall, dependants are fewer and the main cost to fund is often the funeral and final bills. The practical products narrow: Quick Life stops at 65 and Funeral Insurance at 75, as covered further down.
What age does to the cost
Age is the largest single driver of what life cover costs. The figures below are monthly costs for $500,000 of stepped life cover, for a non-smoker in occupation class 1 on standard rates. Each is the range across the insurers that priced that row (AIA, Asteron Life, Chubb Life, Fidelity Life and Partners Life), rounded outward, from insurers' published rate cards as at 8 September 2026. They are indicative, not quotes: your own premium depends on underwriting. See each insurer's own page, for example Fidelity Life's life cover page, and our methodology.
| Age | Typical monthly cost, man, $500,000 cover | Typical monthly cost, woman, $500,000 cover |
|---|---|---|
| 30 | $30 to $40 | $20 to $30 |
| 40 | $40 to $50 | $35 to $40 |
| 50 | $90 to $120 | $80 to $100 |
| 60 | $300 to $375 | $225 to $275 |
| 65 | $625 to $725 | $400 to $475 |
Two things stand out. The jump after 50 is steep, and cost does not fall steadily the younger you are: in the September 2026 data it dipped between about 25 and 35 before rising. For the full picture, see the life insurance Premium Index and our cost of $500,000 cover guide.
Buying young does not lock in a low premium
Stepped premiums are re-set each year for your age. Fidelity's Yearly Renewable Term rises each year with age, while its Level Term starts "a bit higher" and stays the same for the term (Fidelity Life). So the reason to buy earlier is not a frozen price. It is that you are assessed while healthy, and that you hold the cover when the need arises. The Financial Markets Authority adds that most premiums rise annually with age or inflation (FMA).
Entry ages: when you can start, and when you cannot
| Product | Entry age | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| AIA Living, Life Cover | 10 to 70 | No expiry age |
| Chubb Assurance Extra, Life Cover | 10 to 70 | "Level to 65" is open to age 55 and "level to 70" to 60; cover never expires |
| Fidelity Life, life cover | 16 to 75 | No expiry age |
| Momentum Life, Quick Life | 18 to 65 | Guaranteed acceptance; stepped premiums to 75 then fixed |
| Momentum Life, Funeral Insurance | 40 to 75 | Guaranteed acceptance; level premiums to the 89th birthday |
Sources: AIA, Chubb, Fidelity's life cover page and Momentum's policy wordings, retrieved 20 October 2026. We did not find a published entry age for Asteron or Partners Life. For a longer table, see life insurance age limits.
On the other end of the question, "at what age does life insurance expire": most of the whole-of-life covers above have no expiry age, as long as premiums are paid. AIA's Accidental Death cover is an exception, running from 16 to 60 and expiring at 65. Chubb's "to 65", "to 70" and similar options set how long the premium is held before it is recalculated, not when cover ends.
Why full underwriting usually wins for healthy younger adults
A healthy person can usually get more cover for less through a fully underwritten policy arranged by a licensed adviser than through a guaranteed-acceptance plan. The insurer sets the price after it has seen your health, rather than pricing in the risk of those who would be declined elsewhere. On evidence, Fidelity and Chubb both need only an application form or personal statement up to $500,000 at every age band in their published adviser guides, though disclosed conditions can trigger more. For what to expect, read about the medical exam and blood tests.
When age makes guaranteed acceptance the practical choice
Guaranteed acceptance suits people who would be declined or heavily loaded elsewhere, or who want cover in place in minutes without health questions. Momentum Life's Quick Life covers $50,000 to $300,000 per person for New Zealanders aged 18 to 65, rising 3% a year to a $500,000 cap per person. In the first two years it excludes pre-existing conditions and suicide, so it is not full cover from day one. After 75, premiums are fixed and $20,000 of the benefit becomes free; the policyholder can elect a free $20,000 funeral benefit or keep Quick Life with the free component.
From 66 there are no new Quick Life applications, and for funeral costs the option is Funeral Insurance (ages 40 to 75, $3,000 to $30,000). In the first 24 months it pays only for accidental death (death within 90 days of the accident); any other death in that window pays no benefit, and all premiums paid for that person are refunded. Total premiums can exceed the benefit, and the benefit may not cover the whole funeral. Saving the money in an account is the other way to prepare. See what funeral insurance is and the funeral insurance hub.
Momentum Life's A.M. Best financial strength rating is B (Fair), in A.M. Best's "Vulnerable" range (Momentum Life: Financial strength). The rating is an opinion, not a recommendation. The guaranteed acceptance hub compares the options, and the buttons on this page start a Momentum Life online quote if guaranteed acceptance is what you are looking for.
A quick decision path
- Dependants or a mortgage, healthy: price underwritten cover with an adviser now.
- Dependants or a mortgage, with a health condition: ask an adviser what terms are possible before assuming a decline; Asteron says insurers can usually still offer cover by adding a stand-down period, raising the premium, or excluding the condition (Asteron).
- No dependants, no debt: waiting is fine. Revisit when something changes.
- Over 65 and wanting funeral money: compare Funeral Insurance with saving the same amount.
- Over 75: see life insurance over 75. Momentum takes no new applicants at that age.
Who we are and how we are paid
Financial 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. Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver may receive a commission if you buy through our link; see how we are paid and our disclosure.
Frequently asked questions
What age should I get life insurance?
When someone starts to depend on your income or you take on debt. That is often between 25 and 40, but it can be later.
How old do you need to be to get life insurance?
It depends on the product. AIA's and Chubb's life cover start at 10, Fidelity's at 16, and Momentum's Quick Life at 18.
How old can you get life insurance?
AIA and Chubb publish 70 for life cover, Fidelity 75, Momentum's Quick Life 65 and Momentum's Funeral Insurance 75. Other funeral products go higher; see life insurance over 75.
Does life insurance expire at a certain age?
Not for the whole-of-life covers we checked, if premiums are paid. Accident-only cover can expire; AIA's Accidental Death cover expires at 65.
References
- AIA New Zealand: Life insurance, retrieved 20 October 2026
- Chubb Life: Assurance Extra Life Cover brochure, retrieved 20 October 2026
- Fidelity Life: Life cover, retrieved 20 October 2026
- Asteron Life: Insurance options for pre-existing conditions, retrieved 20 October 2026
- FMA: Insurance, retrieved 20 October 2026
- 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: Financial strength, retrieved 20 October 2026
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