Holding more than one funeral insurance policy

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.

Yes, you can hold more than one funeral insurance policy in New Zealand. We found no New Zealand rule that limits how many a person may have; the limits come from each insurer, which caps the total benefit it will pay on one life. The main drawback is cost: you pay premiums on each policy, and the combined premiums can end up larger than the combined benefit.

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Funeral cover: Only accidental death is covered for the first 2 years. Total premiums can add up to more than the cover, and it may not meet the whole cost of a funeral.

Life cover: Conditions you already have aren't covered for the first 2 years (premiums refunded instead). Suicide isn't covered for the first 2 years, and a few conditions can be excluded permanently.

Insurer: Momentum Life Limited. Financial strength rating B (Fair) from AM Best, affirmed 11 February 2026; B ratings sit in AM Best's 'vulnerable' range. The rating scale is available for inspection at every Momentum Life office in New Zealand. What this means

Already have cover? Keep it. New cover won't pay for a condition you already have in its first 2 years.

Opens Momentum Life's online application; its guidance only covers eligibility. QuoteHub is a Momentum Life partner. Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver may receive a commission if you buy. General information, not advice.

A funeral insurance policy is a small whole-of-life policy that pays a fixed sum towards funeral costs. Holding two means paying two sets of premiums for the same job, and each policy has its own early window. With Momentum Life's Funeral Insurance, only an accidental death is paid in the first 24 months, and any other death in that time pays nothing but returns the premiums. Momentum also limits the total on one person to $30,000 across all its funeral policies, so a second Momentum policy does not raise the ceiling. Other insurers cap in the same way, but only on their own policies. The Funeral Directors Association of New Zealand puts a full funeral for 50 people at $11,700 for a cremation and $14,300 for a burial, so one policy near the cap is already more than FDANZ's scenario totals.

Is there a legal limit?

We found no statute that limits the number of funeral policies one person can have, and New Zealand law does not require an insurable interest in the person whose life is insured (Insurance Law Reform Act 1985, s 6). So the rules that matter are the insurers' terms. Our guide to insuring someone else covers who can own a policy on a parent.

Is there a maximum total funeral cover?

Each insurer sets one, and the cap applies across that insurer's own policies. It does not add up across insurers.

Insurer	Cap on one person	Source
Momentum Life	$30,000 across all its funeral policies	Policy wording
AA Life (Asteron Life)	$30,000 across Asteron funeral policies	Wording of 15 November 2024
Chubb Life	$30,000 across all its funeral policies	Chubb funeral cover page
Greenwich Life	Not more than $20,000 per person across policies	Greenwich funeral page

Momentum's wording says that if a person is covered by more than one Momentum funeral policy, the most they can receive under all of them is $30,000. If the total goes above that, the reduction is taken from the newest policy first and the extra premiums paid are refunded. Momentum may also change the maximum from time to time and says it will not notify you when it does (Momentum Life: Funeral Insurance Policy Wording). We do not suggest using several insurers to get past a single insurer's limit. Our page on maximum funeral cover explains the limits and why most families do not need that much.

Do insurers know about your other policies?

The wording we read counts only the insurer's own policies towards its cap and does not describe checking for cover held elsewhere. We found no public register of funeral policies and no insurer statement that policies are shared between insurers. Ask each insurer what it asks and what it records, and answer honestly: Momentum's wording says information you give must be true, correct and complete, and that it may decline a claim, cancel the policy or reduce a benefit if it is not.

Why would someone have two funeral policies?

There are a few ordinary reasons, and some are not duplication at all.

Two people, one each. A couple each holding a policy on their own life is two policies, but each covers a different person. That is not stacking.
An older policy plus a newer one. A person may have kept a policy from years ago and added another when the first benefit looked too small. An increase on an existing Momentum policy starts a new 24-month accident-only window for the increase.
A child owns a policy on a parent. Momentum's wording lets an adult child own a policy on a parent, because a parent counts as a relative of the owner. The parent may also hold a policy of their own, and then the $30,000 total applies to that parent's life.
A funeral payment inside life cover. Some life policies already pay money early for a funeral, such as AIA's funeral benefit (up to $25,000), Southern Cross Life's Bereavement Support Benefit (up to $25,000) and Kiwibank's $15,000 Funeral Expenses lump sum. Read your life policy before adding funeral cover on top.

What does a second policy cost?

The cost is the premium on each policy, and QuoteHub does not publish an exact premium for any insurer. To show the effect, here is an invented example: a made-up figure, not Momentum's or any other insurer's price: say each of two $10,000 policies cost $780 a year. Together that is $1,560 a year, and after about 12.8 years you would have paid $20,000, the same as the two benefits combined. Premiums that carry on to the 89th birthday, as Momentum's do, can pass that point, because anyone who starts before about age 76 would be paying for more than 12.8 years. If the person then dies in the first 24 months of the second policy from an illness, that policy pays nothing and returns only the premiums. These numbers are for illustration and are not a quote. Our break-even calculator lets you test your own figures, and the cost guide explains what drives the price.

How does this differ from holding several life policies?

Funeral cover is a small, capped product, so a second policy is unlikely to add much. Life cover is larger: Momentum's Quick Life runs from $50,000 to $300,000 per life insured, with a combined limit across all of a person's Momentum policies and a $500,000 total cap. It has a two-year exclusion for pre-existing conditions and suicide, so it is not a quick fix either. Insurers also differ on how much total cover they will give one person; ask each one.

Should I cancel one policy and raise another?

Not without working out what you lose. Under Momentum's policy you can cancel at any time on 30 days' notice, but outside the 30-day free look from the Acceptance Date there is no refund of premiums, and starting again means a new application. Raising a benefit starts a new accident-only window for the increase. The page on cancelling funeral insurance sets out the steps. If the question is whether the cover is worth keeping at all, read is funeral insurance worth it.

Where to get advice

The buttons on this page open Momentum Life's online application. Momentum Life Limited is rated B (Fair) by A.M. Best, a rating Momentum's own table groups in its "Vulnerable" range; see its financial strength page. Total premiums can exceed the benefit, and the benefit may not cover the whole funeral. QuoteHub is a Momentum Life partner and Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver may receive a commission if you buy a Momentum policy. A licensed adviser can look at everything you already hold. Advice is provided by Craig Smith Business Services Limited, trading as Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver, a licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931). Back to the funeral insurance hub, or see funeral insurance for parents if the policy is for someone else.

Get a quote and apply online today

See your price in about a minute, then apply online with Momentum Life. Guaranteed acceptance, no health questions, no medical exams.

Funeral cover See your price Ages 40–75 · $3k–$30k Life cover See your price Ages 18–65 · $50k–$300k

Want more cover or have questions? Talk to an adviser

Funeral cover: Only accidental death is covered for the first 2 years. Total premiums can add up to more than the cover, and it may not meet the whole cost of a funeral.

Already have cover? Keep it. New cover won't pay for a condition you already have in its first 2 years.

Adviser's view

Holding two funeral policies is allowed, but it is rarely a good use of money. Each insurer caps the total it will pay on one person, with Momentum each new policy or increase starts its own early window, and total premiums on both can run well past the combined benefit. Check what cover you already have, including any funeral payment inside a life policy, before you add another.

Henry Smith, Financial Adviser (FSP1010699). General information, not personalised financial advice.

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Cite this page QuoteHub NZ (2026). Can You Have Multiple Funeral Policies in NZ?. www.quotehub.co.nz/funeral-insurance/can-you-have-multiple-funeral-policies-nz. Updated 2026-10-20.

References

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