Written by Henry Smith · Reviewed by Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver, licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931) · Updated 2026-10-20 · Reviewed quarterly, when the underlying data is restated.
Financial advice is provided by Craig Smith Business Services Limited, trading as Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver, a licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931). QuoteHub is a trading name.
Funeral insurance in New Zealand pays a set amount to your family when you die, usually to cover funeral costs. Momentum Life's Funeral Cover accepts new applicants aged 40 to 75, with benefits from $3,000 to $30,000. The first 24 months pay only for accidental death; for any other death in that time, the premiums you paid are refunded instead.
What funeral insurance is
Funeral insurance is a small whole-of-life policy built for one job: putting money in the hands of the people who have to pay for your funeral. It is not income protection, it is not a savings plan, and it is not a substitute for the larger life cover that clears a mortgage or replaces a wage.
Many funeral policies are sold on guaranteed acceptance, which means the insurer does not ask health questions or ask for medical exams. Your age and the amount you choose set the price. That is the appeal for people in their 50s, 60s and 70s who may be declined for other cover, and it is also why the policy carries a waiting period (below).
How funeral insurance works
The mechanics vary by insurer, so it helps to know the moving parts before you compare. This is how Momentum Life's Funeral Cover works.
A set sum. You choose a benefit. With Momentum Life it is $3,000 to $30,000, and the benefit triples if death is accidental.
Regular premiums. You pay fortnightly, monthly or yearly. Momentum Life's Funeral Cover premium is fixed each year until your 89th birthday, when payments stop and the cover continues for life. Premiums can be changed for everyone on the same plan if tax law or claims experience changes, with at least 30 days' written notice.
A payout to whoever you name. The benefit is paid to the policy owner or, if the owner has died, to the nominated beneficiaries and otherwise to the owner's executor. Momentum Life says claims are usually paid within 24 to 48 hours of approval.
A free-look period. Momentum Life gives 30 days from the Acceptance Date to cancel for a full refund, provided no claim has been made.
An adult child can own a Momentum Life funeral policy on a parent, because the wording counts a parent as a relative of the owner. The policy owner must be a natural person who is a New Zealander, and a family policy takes up to four people.
What the first 24 months mean
This is the part of a guaranteed acceptance funeral policy that surprises people, so it is worth reading slowly. With Momentum Life Funeral Cover:
In the first 24 months the benefit is paid only if death is the direct result of an accident and happens within 90 days of it. Accidental death pays three times the chosen benefit.
If death in that time is from anything other than an accident, no benefit is paid and all premiums for that person are refunded.
After 24 months the policy pays for death from any cause.
There is no separate clause for suicide or pre-existing conditions. The 24-month window is the only early restriction.
Increasing the benefit or adding a person starts a new 24-month window for the increase.
The quick way to read it: the insurer takes on the risk you may already be ill in exchange for the wait, and it hands your premiums back if you die inside the wait from illness. That is a fair trade for a healthy 55-year-old and a poor one for someone who expects to need the money within two years.
Who funeral insurance suits
Your situation
Where it points
What to know
Aged 40 to 75 and want $3,000 to $30,000 set aside for a funeral
Momentum Life Funeral Cover
Guaranteed acceptance, level premiums to 89, accident-only for the first 24 months.
Aged 18 to 65 and want $50,000 to $300,000, including for a funeral
Guaranteed acceptance, stepped premiums to 75, pre-existing conditions and suicide excluded for the first 2 years.
Aged 76 or over
A licensed adviser
Momentum Life's funeral cover stops taking new applicants at 75, and other insurers set their own limits.
Want more than $300,000, or cover that pays for illness from the start
A licensed adviser
Cover with health questions is available if you can be accepted, and it usually costs less if you are accepted on standard terms.
Paying for a parent's funeral cover
Momentum Life Funeral Cover, owned by you
The parent must be 40 to 75 and a New Zealander.
Already have life insurance with funeral cover attached
Check your policy first
Replacing cover can restart waiting periods, so compare both carefully before you cancel anything.
What funeral insurance costs
The price of a funeral policy depends on your age when you start, the benefit you choose, how many people are on the policy and how you pay. Momentum Life's Funeral Cover is priced at the age you start and then held level, so the age you start matters. On its online application a 1.95% surcharge applies to card payments, and direct debit is available.
QuoteHub does not publish an exact premium for any insurer, because the figure that applies to you changes with your age and the amount. The place to see your own price is Momentum Life's online application, which shows it in about a minute without asking for contact details.
Weigh the price against the benefit, not against a funeral bill. Total premiums can add up to more than the benefit paid, and the benefit may not meet the whole cost of a funeral. FDANZ's 2026 survey puts a full funeral with 50 guests at $11,700 for a cremation and $14,300 for a burial, so a benefit at the top of the range may meet a typical funeral, while a smaller one may cover only part of it (FDANZ, 2026 New Zealand Funeral Industry Trends Report, retrieved 9 September 2026). Our funeral cost guide breaks the bill down line by line.
The alternatives
Funeral insurance is one of seven ways families usually pay for a funeral, and several of them cost nothing in premiums.
Savings or a set-aside account. The simplest option if you can leave the money untouched.
A prepaid funeral plan. You pay a funeral director in advance. The money is committed to that provider.
Life insurance with a funeral advance. Several life policies release part of the sum insured on notification of death. See life insurance with funeral cover.
Government grants. The WINZ funeral grant and, for accident-related deaths, the ACC funeral grant help, and neither covers a full average funeral on its own.
The estate. Funerals are normally paid from the estate first, but money can be locked until probate finishes.
There is no single best funeral insurance. The right policy depends on your age, how long you expect to keep it and how much you can afford to keep paying. Compare these points, in this order:
Entry age and cover range. Each insurer sets its own limits, and they differ.
The early-death window. Check what pays in the first one to two years, and whether premiums are refunded.
Level or stepped premiums. Level premiums stay fixed; stepped premiums rise with age. Our guide to stepped versus level premiums explains the trade.
The insurer's financial strength. Momentum Life's AM Best rating is B (Fair), affirmed on 11 February 2026, which sits in AM Best's "vulnerable" range. Compare ratings across insurers, and see what this means.
Whether premiums can change. Most policies allow it for everyone on the same plan.
Cancellation terms. Cancelling after the free-look period means you lose the premiums you paid.
What to check before you buy
Total premiums can add up to more than the benefit. Work out what you would pay by age 80 or 85.
A funeral benefit of $30,000 or less is a contribution to a funeral, not a guarantee that every cost is met.
Funeral cover is for final expenses and is not a replacement for larger life cover.
If you already hold cover, keep it until the new policy is in place.
If your health would let you qualify for standard terms, cover with health questions usually costs less. A licensed adviser can tell you whether you are in that position.
Where to get advice
You can see a Momentum Life price in about a minute from the buttons on this page, and you choose the cover yourself. If you would rather talk it through, or you want more than the online limits allow, a licensed adviser can compare funeral cover and life cover with you on your own details. QuoteHub is a Momentum Life partner, and Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver may receive a commission if you buy. Our how we are paid page explains it in full. Financial advice is provided by Craig Smith Business Services Limited, trading as Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver, a licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931). QuoteHub is a trading name.
Funeral insurance solves one narrow problem: a lump sum that arrives for the people arranging a funeral, with no health questions at the door. The cost of that simplicity is a waiting period in which only accidents pay, and total premiums that can end up larger than the sum paid. For someone who would otherwise leave their family to find the money, that trade can be sensible. For someone with savings or a prepaid plan it usually is not.
Henry Smith, Financial Adviser (FSP1010699). General information, not personalised financial advice.