Do funeral insurance premiums go up with age in NZ?
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.
Not because you get older, with Momentum Life's Funeral Insurance. The premium rate for each person insured stays the same each year until the 89th birthday, when payments stop. But Momentum can change the rate for everyone on the same offer if tax law changes or claims experience is far from expected, on at least 30 days' written notice.
Level and stepped premiums
A level premium is a rate that does not rise with your age. A stepped premium is recalculated each year, usually upward, as you get older. Both are used in New Zealand insurance. Momentum Life's two guaranteed acceptance products show the difference. Funeral Insurance uses a level rate: "the premium rate of each Life Insured will remain the same each year until the Life Insured reaches their 89th birthday, at which time premium payments will end" (Momentum Life: Funeral Insurance Policy Wording). Quick Life, its life cover for ages 18 to 65, uses stepped premiums: recalculated each anniversary for age, gender and smoking status, "generally increase each year", then fixed from age 75 (Momentum Life: Quick Life Insurance Policy Wording). Quick Life also excludes pre-existing conditions and suicide for the first 2 years. For the plan details see Funeral Cover and Quick Life.
When a level rate can still change
Momentum's wording says there are "some situations where your premium rates may change". It names two, and no others:
- A change in tax or other legislation.
- Claims experience that is "significantly different from expected".
The wording then sets three conditions. The change can happen only if Momentum changes the rates for all policies issued under the same offer made to you. Momentum must send at least 30 days' advance written notice. And the change takes effect only from your next Policy Anniversary. The 30 days comes from the policy wording, not from a law we can cite. It is also not a rise specific to you or to your age. It is a re-rating of a whole group of policies. A separate rule: if you later increase your benefit or add a person, the extra cover is priced at Momentum's rates at that time.
Age-based rises and group re-rates compared
| Stepped premium (for example Quick Life) | Level premium (Momentum Funeral Insurance) | |
|---|---|---|
| Rises as you age | Yes, each anniversary | No |
| Can the insurer reset the rate | Yes, for tax or claims experience on 30 days' notice | Yes, for the same two reasons, for everyone on the offer, on 30 days' notice |
| What happens later | Premiums become fixed from 75 and continue | Premiums stop at the 89th birthday and cover continues for life |
We have no source for how often either kind of re-rate has happened, and Momentum publishes no claims statistics, so we cannot say how likely one is.
The cost that matters more: paying until the total passes the benefit
Because the rate is level, the main way a funeral policy can cost more than it pays is time. Take an illustration with round numbers. It is not a Momentum price, because QuoteHub does not publish one. Suppose a monthly premium of $30, level until they stop, against a $10,000 benefit:
| Years paid | Total paid | Against a $10,000 benefit |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | $3,600 | $6,400 below |
| 20 | $7,200 | $2,800 below |
| 30 | $10,800 | $800 above |
Anyone who takes out cover at 60 and lives to 89 would pay for 29 years. Anyone who dies in year three collects the benefit for a fraction of its cost, but only after the first 24 months unless the death is accidental. Momentum's wording says this itself: "depending on how long you keep your cover, the total premiums you pay to us could exceed the Benefit we pay to you". The Insurance & Financial Services Ombudsman said in December 2025 that insurers should warn customers they may pay more than they get back, in the policy, on the website and in advertising (IFSO: Funeral insurance, what consumers need to know). Our cost guide shows how to run this test with a real quote.
How other funeral policies treat premiums
These are from each provider's own pages and documents, retrieved 17 to 20 October 2026.
- AA Life Funeral Cover (Asteron Life): a one-year renewable term, and any premium rise is applied to all policies on the offer. Premiums run to the anniversary after the 90th birthday (AA Life: Funeral cover).
- Chubb Life Funeral Cover: the rate can change for the product on 30 days' notice, and the wording says total premiums "may exceed the benefit". Premiums stop at claim, at 90 or on entering long-term care (Chubb: Funeral cover).
- Greenwich Life, The Funeral Plan: premiums stop once the total paid equals the benefit, the only plan we found where the total cannot pass the benefit (Greenwich Life).
- NZ Seniors and OneChoice: no premiums after 85. We have not confirmed whether the rate is level before that. See the full comparison.
What to do if a re-rate notice arrives
You can cancel on 30 days' notice, but you lose the premiums paid and the wording says you would need to reapply if you changed your mind later (Momentum wording). Compare the new premium with the benefit and the years left, and talk to a licensed adviser if you are unsure. A complaint can go to Momentum first and then to IFSO, which is free (Momentum Life: Complaints). Our page on when funeral insurance premiums stop covers the end of the payment period.
Who level premiums suit
A level rate suits someone who wants a predictable amount to budget for over many years, accepts the 24-month wait and has weighed the total cost. It suits a person on a fixed income less well if they might struggle in a decade. A policy cancelled for non-payment can be reinstated only by application, and the wording says reinstatement is not guaranteed. Savings are the alternative with no premium at all: see is funeral insurance worth it.
Getting advice
The buttons on this page open Momentum Life's online application for Funeral Insurance, which is open to ages 40 to 75. In its first 24 months only accidental death pays, and otherwise premiums are refunded. Momentum Life holds an A.M. Best rating of B (Fair), in the range Momentum calls "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.
Adviser's view
Momentum Life's Funeral Insurance does not charge more as you age, unlike stepped products. It is not a promise that the amount can never change, because the rate can be re-set for everyone on the same offer on 30 days' notice. The bigger risk for most people is not a rise but paying for decades until the total passes the benefit.
Talk to a licensed adviser about funeral cover · free, no obligation.
Cite this page QuoteHub NZ (2026). Do Funeral Insurance Premiums Go Up With Age NZ?. www.quotehub.co.nz/funeral-insurance/do-funeral-insurance-premiums-rise-nz. Updated 2026-10-20.
References
- Momentum Life: Funeral Insurance Policy Wording (PDF, issue date 17 August 2023)
- Momentum Life: Quick Life Insurance Policy Wording (November 2025)
- Momentum Life: Financial Strength
- Momentum Life: Complaints
- IFSO: Funeral insurance, what consumers need to know
- AA Life: Funeral cover
- Chubb: Funeral cover
- Greenwich Life: The Funeral Plan
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