Cheapest funeral insurance in NZ: how to compare total cost

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.

There is no single cheapest funeral insurance in New Zealand. Here is how the options differ on what makes funeral cover cost more or less over a lifetime, as at 20 October 2026. Premiums depend on age, the amount and the insurer, and Momentum Life's Funeral Insurance has level premiums to the 89th birthday, so the question is what the total adds up to against the 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.

Funeral insurance is priced mainly by your age when you start and the benefit you choose; AA Life's published example also states sex, AA Member status and smoking status. A weekly price tells you very little on its own. A policy that looks cheap each week can cost more in total if premiums run for decades, if they stop only at a late age or if they rise over time. The policy that costs more a week may stop sooner, refund premiums for an early death or pay a larger amount. QuoteHub does not publish an exact premium for any insurer, and only AA Life publishes one, for a single profile. The reliable method is to ask each insurer for a quote for the same person, benefit and payment method, then total it and compare the total with the benefit.

What affects the total cost over a lifetime?

Factor	Why it matters	What the providers say
Age at start	Weekly cost rises with age, but fewer years of premiums are paid	Independent sites show prices roughly doubling between ages 50 and 70 (Moneyhub)
When premiums stop	Every extra year of premiums adds to the total	Momentum: 89th birthday. NZ Seniors and OneChoice: 85. AA Life: the anniversary after the 90th birthday. Chubb Life: at claim, at 90, or on entering long-term care. Greenwich Life: when the total paid equals the benefit
Whether the rate can change	A rise lifts the total	Momentum can change rates for everyone on the same offer, on 30 days' notice, for a change in tax law or claims experience. AA's wording of 15 November 2024 describes a one-year renewable term
The early window	Defines what you get for the first premiums	Momentum, AA Life, Chubb Life and Greenwich Life: 24 months, with premiums refunded for another cause of death. NZ Seniors and OneChoice: 12 months, with no refund after the cooling-off period
Discounts	Reduce the weekly figure	AA: 5% AA Member, 20% joint. Chubb Life: 20% joint. Momentum: $150 a year off for each extra life insured
Payment method	A fee can add to the total	Momentum says an additional processing fee applies for card payments; the wording gives no percentage

Sources: Momentum Life policy wording, AA Life, Chubb, Greenwich Life, NZ Seniors, OneChoice, retrieved 17 to 20 October 2026. Our best funeral insurance page compares the same insurers on more criteria.

Can total premiums exceed the benefit?

Yes, it can on every product in the table above except Greenwich Life's Funeral Plan, whose premiums stop once the total paid equals the benefit. Momentum's wording says depending on how long you keep your cover, the total premiums you pay could exceed the benefit, and that the benefit may not cover the cost of the funeral. The Insurance & Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme said in December 2025 that insurers should warn customers of this in the policy, on the website and in any advertising (IFSO). Greenwich's cap comes with a lower maximum of $20,000 on its web page and an entry age of 30 to 70.

A worked example: the break-even weekly premium

Because Momentum publishes no price, this example uses a method rather than a quote. Take a $10,000 benefit, and premiums that stay level to the 89th birthday as Momentum's do. The break-even weekly premium is the weekly amount at which total premiums to age 89 equal $10,000. If your quote is higher than that and you live to 89, you will have paid more than the benefit.

Age at start	Years of premiums to 89	Break-even weekly premium for a $10,000 benefit
45	44	about $4.37
55	34	about $5.66
65	24	about $8.01

Each figure is $10,000 divided by (52 weeks multiplied by the years shown). They assume the rate never changes and ignore any card fee, so they are a guide and not a quote. The point is the direction: the earlier you start, the lower the weekly price has to be for the total to stay under the benefit.

Now compare the one published price. AA Life shows from $14.28 a week for $10,000 of cover for a 66-year-old female AA Member non-smoker (AA Life, retrieved 20 October 2026). AA's premiums run to the anniversary after the 90th birthday, roughly 24 years from age 66. If that price never changed, $14.28 a week for 24 years comes to about $17,800 (more if premiums run a little longer), well above the $10,000 benefit. AA's price can change, it applies to one profile only, and we are not saying it is dear or good value. The figure shows why the weekly price alone is not enough. Our break-even calculator runs the same sum on a quote you have been given.

Are cheaper policies always better?

No. A lower premium may reflect a longer wait, a different benefit, a different stop age or a different insurer's financial strength, so compare the whole policy. For example, the NZ Seniors and OneChoice early window is 12 months against 24 months for Momentum, but OneChoice says premiums are not refunded after the cooling-off period, whereas Momentum refunds all premiums if the person dies of a non-accidental cause in its 24 months. Which is better depends on how likely you think an early death is and how much the refund matters to you. Ratings differ too: Momentum Life Limited, Pinnacle Life (which underwrites NZ Seniors and OneChoice) and Chubb Life each publish a different financial strength rating. A rating is an opinion of an insurer's ability to pay claims, not a recommendation, and the agencies' scales are not interchangeable.

What is the cheapest age to buy?

There is no age at which funeral cover is cheapest in total. The weekly price rises with age, but the years of premiums fall. Someone starting at 70 pays a higher weekly premium for fewer years; someone starting at 45 pays a lower weekly premium for decades. Momentum's entry ages are 40 to 75, and the table above shows three of them. The first 24 months matter at any age: a person in poor health who buys at 74 gets accident cover only for two years, and in that time a death from illness returns premiums but pays no benefit.

How to compare quotes

Ask for the same person, benefit, payment frequency and payment method from each insurer.
Write down when premiums stop, whether the rate can change and the length of the early window.
Multiply the premium by the number of payments to the stop age, and compare with the benefit.
Add any card fee, and subtract any discount you are actually entitled to.
Compare with other ways to pay for a funeral: savings, a prepaid plan, and the Work and Income Funeral Grant of up to $2,697.43, which has income and asset tests and can be affected by prepaid funeral cover (Work and Income).

Our funeral insurance cost guide explains what drives premiums, and the comparison blog post covers the wider options.

Where to get advice

The buttons on this page open Momentum Life's online application, one option among those above. Read Momentum's financial strength page first. QuoteHub is a Momentum Life partner and Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver may receive a commission if you buy a Momentum policy. A licensed adviser can request quotes on your details. Advice is provided by Craig Smith Business Services Limited, trading as Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver, a licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931). See also the Momentum Life Funeral Cover page and the funeral insurance hub.