Zurich life insurance: NZ policy and provider checks
Zurich New Zealand's own website, read on 20 October 2026, lists small business, motor, marine, liability, financial lines and property insurance. It does not list personal life or funeral insurance. We found no primary source saying what became of any older Zurich-written New Zealand life policies, so this page shows how to trace one rather than guessing.
In short
- Zurich New Zealand's product list is general and commercial insurance. No life or funeral product appears on it.
- Zurich is a global group, so a search for "Zurich life insurance" can lead to pages about another country's products. Those are not a guide to New Zealand policies.
- If you hold an old policy with Zurich on the paperwork, the schedule, premium notices and the Reserve Bank register are the way to find who is responsible for it now.
- If you need new cover today, Momentum Life's products are open to specific ages only, and a licensed adviser can look wider.
Does Zurich sell life insurance in New Zealand?
On the evidence we could read, no. The Zurich New Zealand home page lists these products: Small Business Insurance, Motor Insurance (including Auto Assist), Marine Insurance, Liability Insurance, Financial Lines Insurance and Property Insurance, plus Zurich Resilience Solutions for workplaces (Zurich New Zealand). Life insurance and funeral insurance are not among them.
Zurich's New Zealand contact page tells the same story. Its claims contacts are for emergency business claims and for marine, motor, liability, property and financial lines. There is no life claims line (Zurich New Zealand: Contact).
That is a statement about what the website lists on the day we read it, not a statement about the company's whole history. We also cannot speak for every Zurich group company in every country.
Why a search for "Zurich life insurance" can mislead
Zurich is a global insurance group, and its names appear in many markets. Pages about Zurich life products in other countries, such as Australia, describe those markets. A product, a regulator, a dispute scheme and a set of tax and legal rules are all different on the other side of the Tasman, so an Australian review tells you nothing reliable about a New Zealand policy.
In New Zealand, a life insurer must be licensed by the Reserve Bank, and the advice side is regulated by the Financial Markets Authority. The right question is therefore not "what does Zurich say" but "which licensed New Zealand company is responsible for the policy I hold, or want to buy?"
What we could not confirm
It is sometimes suggested that Zurich once wrote New Zealand life policies that were later sold on to another insurer. We could not find a primary source for that: not on Zurich's New Zealand site, not in the legacy-brand mapping we published in who holds my old insurance policy, and not in the other pages we checked. Because a wrong answer here could send someone to the wrong company, we are not naming any successor insurer.
If you have a policy that you believe was written by Zurich, the facts printed on your own paperwork are better evidence than any web page.
How do you find who is responsible for an old policy?
- Read the policy schedule and the latest premium notice. The legal name of the insurer is on the schedule, and the company that collects premiums or sends annual statements is named on notices. Note the policy number exactly.
- Check your bank statements. The name that appears on the direct debit is a clue to who is billing you now, and it can be different from the brand on the original policy.
- Look the insurer up on the Reserve Bank's register of licensed insurers. The register is at rbnz.govt.nz. If the name on your schedule does not appear, it may have been renamed or merged into another company. A company's own history page often says so.
- Ask the adviser who sold it. If a licensed adviser looked after the policy, they may hold the servicing records. If you have lost touch, a current adviser can usually ask the insurer on your behalf.
- Contact Zurich New Zealand only as a last step. Its listed numbers are 0508 987 424 and +64 9 928 8000, weekdays 8:30am to 5:00pm. Zurich's New Zealand business is general insurance, so ask them to point you to the correct company if they do not hold the policy.
- Keep paying premiums until you know. A policy that lapses because a premium was missed can be hard to reinstate. Our guide to missed premiums explains what usually happens.
When insurers sell or exit books of policies, the policies usually carry on with a receiving insurer. In our legacy policy guide, existing terms carried over in every completed transfer where the receiving insurer published a statement. The one exception it records is Foundation Life, which closed through a court-approved scheme. Zurich is not listed in that guide.
Zurich commercial insurance and retail life cover are different things
| Zurich New Zealand (as listed on its website) | Retail life or funeral insurance | |
|---|---|---|
| Who it is for | Businesses and organisations | Individuals and families |
| Examples | Small business, motor, marine, liability, financial lines, property | Life, funeral, trauma, income protection |
| Pays when | An insured business event occurs | The insured person dies (and, with some policies, is terminally ill) |
| Complaints | Zurich, then IFSO | The insurer, then its dispute scheme |
Zurich's contact page says that if a complaint is not resolved, the dispute can be referred to the Insurance & Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme (IFSO) after Zurich's final decision. IFSO is free for consumers.
If you need new life or funeral cover now
You do not need Zurich to get cover. The options turn on age.
- Aged 18 to 65. Momentum Life's Quick Life has guaranteed acceptance with no health questions, for $50,000 to $300,000 per person. Momentum's site says it is not available to people diagnosed with a terminal illness or in palliative or hospice care. In the first 2 years, pre-existing conditions and suicide are excluded, and Quick Life's premiums rise each year until 75. A healthy person can often get more cover for less through fully underwritten cover from an adviser.
- Aged 40 to 75. Momentum Life's Funeral Insurance accepts New Zealanders with no health questions, for a benefit of $3,000 to $30,000. Within 24 months of the start, a benefit is paid only for death caused by an accident and occurring within 90 days of it; for any other death in that window nothing is paid and the premiums for that person are refunded. Premiums are fixed each year until the 89th birthday, then stop. Total premiums can end up larger than the benefit, and the benefit may not cover the whole funeral. See what funeral insurance is.
- Over 75. Neither Momentum product accepts new applicants. A licensed adviser can tell you what other insurers publish; our funeral insurance over 75 page lays out the entry ages we found.
Momentum Life Limited is rated B (Fair) by A.M. Best, and its own solvency disclosure shows 107% at 30 June 2026. See Momentum's financial strength page before you decide. You can check product age limits with our eligibility checker. The buttons on this page lead to Momentum's own application. QuoteHub is a Momentum Life partner and Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver may receive a commission if you buy through our link; see how we're paid.
Frequently asked questions
Does Zurich offer funeral insurance in New Zealand?
Not on the products listed on Zurich New Zealand's website on 20 October 2026.
Who looks after an old Zurich life policy?
We could not confirm this from a primary source. Start with the policy schedule and your premium notices, then the Reserve Bank's register, and ask Zurich New Zealand to point you to the right company if it does not hold the policy.
Is a Zurich review from an Australian website relevant to me?
No. Australian reviews describe Australian products and rules.
References
- Zurich New Zealand: Home, retrieved 20 October 2026
- Zurich New Zealand: Contact, retrieved 20 October 2026
- Reserve Bank of New Zealand: Register of licensed insurers, link as used in QuoteHub's legacy policy guide; the RBNZ site returned an access error when we tried it on 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
- Insurance & Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme, retrieved 20 October 2026
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