Insurance to help pay for a cremation

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 cremation insurance product in New Zealand. What people buy is funeral insurance, which pays a cash benefit that the family can put towards a cremation. Momentum Life's Funeral Insurance pays $3,000 to $30,000 to people aged 40 to 75. The benefit may not cover the whole cost, and total premiums can exceed it.

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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.

What "cremation insurance" means here

Cremation insurance is a search term, not a policy type. We found no New Zealand insurer selling a policy limited to cremation. What is sold is funeral insurance, a small whole-of-life policy that pays a lump sum when the person insured dies. Momentum Life's Funeral Insurance, issued by Momentum Life Limited, is typical: you choose a benefit between $3,000 and $30,000, acceptance is guaranteed for New Zealanders aged 40 to 75 with no health questions, and the benefit is paid as cash to the policy owner or the beneficiary you name. The first 24 months pay only for accidental death. Any other death in that time pays nothing, and all premiums for that person are refunded. The wording we read does not say how the money must be spent, so whether it goes towards a cremation, a burial or a memorial is the family's choice. For the mechanics of the policy itself, see what funeral insurance is.

What a cremation costs

Costs depend on whether there is a service, where you live and which director you use. The Funeral Directors Association of New Zealand (FDANZ) 2026 industry report, based on a survey of member homes about 2025 prices, gives three reference points (FDANZ, 2026 Industry Trends Report):

A full funeral with a cremation, 50 guests at a funeral home, a celebrant, catering and a mid-price casket: average $11,700, range $10,000 to $13,900.
The same funeral with a burial: average $14,300.
An unattended cremation with no service: average $4,700. No range was published.

Part of every cremation bill is the council or crematorium fee. FDANZ's indicative range for a cremation fee is $600 to $1,100 (FDANZ: Financial matters). Council schedules read on 20 October 2026 list an adult cremation at $777 in Tauranga, $1,120.80 in Nelson and $1,182.20 in Dunedin (2026/27 fees). Auckland Council lists an adult cremation at $750 on a page that prints no fee year (Auckland Council: Cemetery fees and charges). Our direct cremation cost guide and cremation cost guide break the bill down further.

Where a benefit falls short

This table sets some example benefits against the two FDANZ averages. The benefits are round examples within Momentum's $3,000 to $30,000 range, and the differences are our arithmetic, not a quote.

Example benefit	Against $4,700 (no-service cremation)	Against $11,700 (full cremation funeral)
$3,000	$1,700 short	$8,700 short
$5,000	$300 over	$6,700 short
$10,000	$5,300 over	$1,700 short
$15,000	$10,300 over	$3,300 over
$20,000	$15,300 over	$8,300 over
$30,000	$25,300 over	$18,300 over

Averages hide a wide spread, and a casket, catering or a second venue can move a bill by thousands. If the death is accidental, Momentum's wording pays three times the chosen benefit, so a $5,000 benefit would pay $15,000. That applies only where death results from an accident and happens within 90 days of it.

What it costs to hold the cover

QuoteHub does not publish an exact Momentum premium, so we cannot tell you the price for your age. Two things are in the wording. Premiums are fixed each year until the 89th birthday, then stop, and Momentum can change the rate for everyone on the same offer on 30 days' written notice. The wording also warns that total premiums could exceed the benefit and that the benefit may not cover the cost of a funeral. Our funeral insurance cost guide explains how to test that for yourself, and premiums over time shows the arithmetic.

Other ways to fund a cremation

Route	What to know
Savings	No wait, no premiums, and it is the only route with nothing to claim. It needs the money to exist when the time comes.
Prepaid funeral plan	FDANZ's Now For Them says it is "not a savings or investment product" and pays no interest. The first $10,000 is excluded from residential-care asset testing under current Ministry of Social Development policy (FDANZ: Now For Them).
Work and Income Funeral Grant	Up to $2,697.43. An income test applies where the person who died was your partner or child, and assets are tested too. Prepaid funeral cover can stop you getting it (Work and Income: Funeral Grant).
ACC funeral grant	Up to $8,236.40, only where the death results from a covered injury (ACC: Financial support after a death).
Fully underwritten life cover	Needs health questions, but a licensed adviser can compare larger amounts that may cost less if you are accepted on standard terms.

The grant at $2,697.43 equals about 57% of FDANZ's $4,700 no-service average and about 23% of its $11,700 full-funeral average, on our arithmetic. See the Funeral Grant explained for who qualifies. A comparison of insurance with the other routes is in is funeral insurance worth it.

Should you buy funeral insurance or prepay?

Funeral insurance makes most sense when you cannot or do not want to set the money aside now, and you are comfortable with a two-year wait in which only an accident pays. A prepaid plan or savings makes more sense when you have the money and want certainty about the amount. Neither choice is wrong. A person who expects to die within two years from illness gets nothing from the insurance except a refund of premiums, and anyone over 75 cannot apply to Momentum at all.

Getting advice

The buttons on this page open Momentum Life's online application for Funeral Insurance, one option among several. Momentum Life holds an A.M. Best rating of B (Fair), which sits in the range Momentum itself labels "Vulnerable"; see its financial strength page. QuoteHub is a Momentum Life partner and Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver may receive a commission if you buy a Momentum policy; see how we are paid. 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.