Choosing $20,000 of funeral cover
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.
A $20,000 funeral cover benefit is a fixed lump sum that sits inside Momentum Life's $3,000 to $30,000 range. It is higher than FDANZ's 2026 averages for a full funeral with 50 guests, $11,700 for a cremation and $14,300 for a burial. For the first 24 months of a Momentum policy only accidental death pays. After that, death from any cause does.
What a $20,000 benefit is
Funeral cover of $20,000 is a whole-of-life policy that pays $20,000 to the person or people you name when the insured person dies, as long as the cover has run past its waiting period. With Momentum Life's Funeral Insurance, issued by Momentum Life Limited, you pick the benefit yourself from $3,000 to $30,000, so $20,000 is a choice within the range rather than a product tier (Momentum Life: Funeral Insurance Policy Wording). The benefit is a contribution, not a promise that every bill is met. The wording itself says the amount "may not cover the cost of a Life Insured's funeral" and that total premiums "could exceed the Benefit". For the full mechanics, see how funeral insurance works and our page on Momentum Life Funeral Cover.
How $20,000 compares with typical funeral costs
FDANZ's 2026 industry report prices a set scenario: a funeral home service for 50 attendees with catering, a celebrant, a slideshow, service sheets, a mid-price casket and a weekday transfer (FDANZ, 2026 New Zealand Funeral Industry Trends Report). Set against that, $20,000 looks like this.
| Scenario (FDANZ 2026) | Average | Range | $20,000 minus average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unattended cremation, no service | $4,700 | not published | $15,300 |
| Full funeral with cremation | $11,700 | $10,000 to $13,900 | $8,300 |
| Full funeral with burial | $14,300 | $12,800 to $17,000 | $5,700 |
The last column is our arithmetic. Three things can push a real bill above these averages:
- Which funeral director and which casket. One Auckland director's May 2026 price list shows a full-service professional fee of $5,955 and caskets from $1,705 up to $14,800 for solid timber. A top-end casket plus that fee is already $20,755 before cremation or burial fees (our sum from two prices on the list; the casket range covers several types) (Dils Standard Price List, May 2026).
- Burial costs vary by council. Of the six cities in FDANZ's July 2025 comparison, totals for plot, interment and maintenance ran from $3,356 in Christchurch to $6,570 at Auckland Council cemeteries.
- Extras outside the scenario. The scenario FDANZ describes does not list a headstone or memorial, and no source we hold gives a national price for them. Bringing a body home from overseas is a separate cost again.
Our funeral cost guide and the funeral costs hub go through the bill line by line.
What you actually get from $20,000 of Momentum cover
The same $20,000 benefit pays out very differently depending on when death happens. The figures below come straight from the policy wording.
| When death happens | What the wording says | What is paid |
|---|---|---|
| Accident, with death within 90 days of it, at any time | Accidental death pays 3 times the benefit | $60,000 |
| Within 24 months, any other cause | No benefit; all premiums for that person are refunded | $0, premiums returned |
| After 24 months, any other cause | The benefit is paid | $20,000 |
A few more rules matter at this amount. Increasing your benefit later, say from $10,000 to $20,000, starts a new 24-month window for the increase only. The most Momentum will pay on one life across all of its funeral policies is $30,000, and an excess is cut from the newest policy with its premiums refunded. Momentum can change that maximum and says it "will not notify" you when it does. The benefit goes to a person you name, not a funeral director or charity, because Momentum "can't pay a Benefit directly to a company, charity or other organisation".
How much will $20,000 cost over the years?
QuoteHub does not publish an exact premium for any insurer. What you pay depends on your age when you start, so the Momentum price for $20,000 has to come from its own online application. What we can do is show how to test whether the premiums are worth it. Momentum holds the rate level each year until the 89th birthday, then premiums stop and cover continues for life. Rates can still change for everyone on the same offer, with at least 30 days' written notice.
The table is arithmetic, not a price list. The yearly amounts are round numbers chosen only to show the method.
| Yearly amount (illustration) | Years until the total paid reaches $20,000 |
|---|---|
| $500 | 40 |
| $1,000 | 20 |
| $1,500 | about 13 |
If you started at 65 and kept the policy to age 89, you would pay for 24 years. If the policy cost $1,000 a year, that is $24,000 paid for a $20,000 benefit. A person who started at 50 would pay for 39 years. Whether that matters depends on how long you live, which nobody knows. It is why every funeral policy asks you to weigh the total against the benefit. See is funeral insurance worth it and funeral insurance cost.
Who else offers $20,000?
Entry ages, limits and waiting periods differ, so check each insurer's current documents. From the insurers' own pages (retrieved 17 to 20 October 2026):
| Provider | Benefit range published | Is $20,000 available? |
|---|---|---|
| Momentum Life | $3,000 to $30,000 | Yes |
| NZ Seniors and OneChoice (Pinnacle Life) | $3,000 to $30,000 | Yes |
| AA Life (Asteron Life) | $5,000 to $30,000 | Yes |
| Chubb Life | "Up to $30,000", minimum not published | Within the stated maximum |
| Greenwich Life Funeral Plan (Autosure) | $5,000 to $20,000 | Yes, as the maximum on the web page |
| Unity | $5,000, $7,500, $10,000 or $15,000 depending on cover type | No |
Greenwich is the one plan on the list where premiums stop once the total paid equals the benefit. The accident-only window also differs: Momentum 24 months, NZ Seniors and OneChoice 12 months. Our funeral insurance comparison and the page on the maximum funeral cover available set these out.
Should you choose more or less than $20,000?
Start from what you expect the funeral to cost and what you already have.
- Choose less if you have savings or a prepaid plan set aside, or if you expect a simple cremation. A smaller benefit costs less each year and leaves fewer premiums to add up.
- Choose about $20,000 if you want the benefit to clear a typical full funeral and leave room for extras.
- Choose more only if your costs are likely to be unusual, for example a large gathering, a burial in a high-cost council, or arrangements overseas. $30,000 is the Momentum maximum.
Government help is small beside these figures. The Work and Income Funeral Grant is up to $2,697.43, it is tested on assets (and on income where the person who died was a partner or child), and prepaid funeral cover can affect whether you receive it (Work and Income: Funeral Grant). ACC's funeral grant of up to $8,236.40 applies only to deaths from a covered injury (ACC: Financial support after death).
Where to get advice
The buttons on this page open Momentum Life's online application, where you choose the amount yourself. If you want to compare $20,000 here against saving, a prepaid plan or other insurers on your own details, a licensed adviser can do that. Momentum Life's A.M. Best rating is B (Fair), which Momentum's own table places in its "Vulnerable" range; its financial strength page has the detail. QuoteHub is a Momentum Life partner and Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver may receive a commission if you buy; how we are paid explains it. Financial advice is provided by Craig Smith Business Services Limited, trading as Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver, a licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931). Start from the funeral insurance hub if you are still deciding whether to buy.
Adviser's view
A $20,000 benefit is above FDANZ's 2026 average for a full cremation or burial funeral, so on paper it leaves room beyond the average bill. What decides whether it is worth buying is not the amount but the wait: only accidental death pays in the first 24 months, and the premiums you pay over the years can add up to more than $20,000. Saving the sum yourself is the main alternative, and the two are worth setting side by side.
Talk to a licensed adviser about funeral cover · free, no obligation.
Cite this page QuoteHub NZ (2026). $20,000 Funeral Cover NZ: Costs and Considerations. www.quotehub.co.nz/funeral-insurance/20000-funeral-cover-nz. Updated 2026-10-20.
References
- Momentum Life: Funeral Insurance Policy Wording (PDF, issue date 17 August 2023)
- Momentum Life: Financial Strength
- FDANZ: 2026 New Zealand Funeral Industry Trends Report (PDF)
- Dils: Standard Price List as at May 2026 (PDF)
- Work and Income: Funeral Grant
- ACC: Financial support after death
- AA Life: Funeral cover
- NZ Seniors: Funeral insurance
- Chubb: Funeral cover
- Greenwich Life: The Funeral Plan
- Unity: Funeral insurance
Explore related pages: Life Insurance, Income Protection, Health Insurance, Trauma Insurance, Free Will.