Final expense insurance in New Zealand: what you can buy here
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.
Final expense insurance is an American name for a small policy that pays towards a funeral. New Zealand has no product category by that name. The nearest local product is funeral insurance, also called funeral cover, which pays a fixed lump sum when the insured person dies. The benefits insurers publish here run from $3,000 up to $30,000, depending on the insurer.
Funeral insurance is a life insurance policy with a small, fixed benefit. It is meant to put money in someone's hands soon after a death, towards a funeral. With Momentum Life's Funeral Insurance, issued by Momentum Life Limited, you choose a benefit from $3,000 to $30,000, there are no medicals or health questions, and acceptance is guaranteed for New Zealanders aged 40 to 75. For the first 24 months it pays only if death is caused by an accident and happens within 90 days of it. Any other death in that time pays no benefit, and all premiums for that person are refunded. After 24 months it pays for death from any cause. Premiums are level each year until the 89th birthday, then stop. The total you pay can end up larger than the benefit, and the benefit may not cover the whole funeral (Momentum Life: Funeral Insurance Policy Wording).
Is final expense insurance sold in New Zealand?
Not under that name. Insurers here call the product funeral insurance or funeral cover, and some use the word "plan": Greenwich Life's product is called The Funeral Plan, and it is insurance (Greenwich Life). A "funeral plan" can also mean a prepaid arrangement with a funeral director or trust, which is a different thing. The name matters because the two work differently: insurance is a policy that pays a benefit after a death, while a prepaid plan is money you hand over now for a funeral later.
If you found this page by searching an American phrase, the useful question is not what the label says. It is what the policy pays, from when, to whom, and what you pay in total.
Translating the jargon
These are phrases you may meet on overseas sites, and what to look for in a New Zealand policy.
| Phrase you may see | What it points to here | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Final expense insurance | Funeral insurance or funeral cover: a fixed lump sum paid after a death | Benefit range, who is accepted, the early-death window |
| Burial insurance | The same product. The benefit is cash and is not limited to burial; see burial insurance in NZ | Whether cremation is covered the same way |
| Guaranteed issue | Guaranteed acceptance: no health questions. Momentum's wording says "Acceptance is guaranteed for New Zealanders aged 40 to 75" | Acceptance is guaranteed; a payout in the first months is not |
| Waiting period or graded benefit | The early window when only an accident pays. 24 months at Momentum, AA Life, Chubb and Greenwich; 12 months at NZ Seniors and OneChoice | Whether premiums are refunded for another cause of death |
| Face amount | The benefit, or sum insured. Momentum caps it at $30,000 per person across its funeral policies | Whether the cap is enough for the funeral you expect |
| Pre-need plan | A prepaid funeral plan, bought from a funeral provider or trust rather than an insurer | Whether the money is protected and what happens to any leftover |
How a New Zealand policy works
Momentum's rules, taken from its wording, are used here as the worked example.
- Who: New Zealanders aged 40 to 75. In the wording, that means living in New Zealand when you apply and being an NZ or Australian citizen, a permanent resident visa holder, or in New Zealand continuously for at least 12 months on a valid temporary work visa.
- How much: $3,000 to $30,000 from any cause after 24 months. Accidental death pays three times the benefit, $9,000 to $90,000, at any time, where death happens within 90 days of the accident.
- First 24 months: accident only. Any other death pays nothing and returns all premiums for that person. Increasing the benefit starts a new 24-month window for the increase.
- Premiums: level each year until the 89th birthday, then none, with cover continuing for life. They can change for everyone on the same plan, for a change in tax or other law or for claims experience that differs significantly from expected, on 30 days' written notice.
- Payout: usually within 24 to 48 hours of claim approval, to the owner, then the nominated beneficiary, then the executor. A beneficiary must be a person: Momentum cannot pay a company, charity or other organisation, so a funeral director cannot be named.
- No terminal illness benefit. There is a 30-day free look from the acceptance date.
Our page on Momentum Life Funeral Cover has the detail, and how funeral insurance works covers the general mechanics.
How the products compare
Compared: Momentum Life, NZ Seniors, OneChoice, AA Life, Chubb Life and Greenwich Life, on entry age, benefit range, early-death window and when premiums stop, as at 20 October 2026, from each provider's own pages and documents. Not every New Zealand insurer is included, and this is QuoteHub's reading of those pages, not a score. For a fuller table see how the options compare.
| Entry age | Benefit | Accident-only window | Premiums stop | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Momentum Life | 40 to 75 | $3,000 to $30,000 | 24 months; other deaths refund all premiums | 89th birthday |
| NZ Seniors, OneChoice | 18 to 79 | $3,000 to $30,000 | 12 months; OneChoice says no refund after the cooling-off period | After 85 |
| AA Life | 50 to 79 | $5,000 to $30,000 | 24 months; 100% refund for another cause | Anniversary after the 90th birthday |
| Chubb Life | 50 to 80 | Up to $30,000 | 24 months; 100% refund for another cause | At claim, at 90, or on entering long-term care |
| Greenwich Life | 30 to 70 | $5,000 to $20,000 (website) | 24 months; 100% refund for another cause | When the total paid equals the benefit |
Only AA publishes a price, and only for one profile, so a fair price comparison needs a quote from each insurer for the same age and amount.
A worked example: premiums against the benefit
Because Momentum publishes no funeral premium, this example uses round numbers that are not any insurer's price. Suppose a $10,000 benefit costs $40 a month. Over time the total paid looks like this.
| Years of premiums | Total paid | Compared with a $10,000 benefit |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | $4,800 | Less than the benefit |
| 20 | $9,600 | Just under the benefit |
| 25 | $12,000 | More than the benefit |
At that illustrative premium the total passes the benefit after about 21 years. For someone taking out Momentum cover at 40, premiums could run for up to 49 years, to the 89th birthday. At 75 the most is 14 years. Both the wording and the Independent Financial Services Ombudsman scheme say what the example shows: you may pay more than you get back (IFSO: Funeral insurance, what consumers need to know). Try your own numbers in the funeral insurance break-even calculator.
What it costs to compare against
FDANZ's 2026 industry report prices a funeral with 50 guests at an average of $11,700 for a cremation and $14,300 for a burial, and an unattended cremation with no service at $4,700 (FDANZ, 2026 New Zealand Funeral Industry Trends Report). A $10,000 benefit is below both full-funeral averages and above the unattended-cremation average. See funeral costs for the breakdown.
Pros and cons
- For: no health questions, so it is open to people who would be declined or loaded elsewhere; cash arrives quickly after approval; a known amount is set aside.
- Against: only accidents pay in the early months; the benefit is fixed and small; total premiums can exceed it; Momentum has no terminal illness benefit and can change premiums for everyone on the plan.
- Who it suits: someone who wants funeral money in place without answering health questions, and accepts the early-months limit.
- Who it does not suit: someone who can set the money aside and would rather keep control of it, or a healthy person who can get more cover for less through fully underwritten life cover.
Alternatives
Saving the amount yourself, a prepaid plan, or fully underwritten life cover through a licensed adviser are all real options. The Work and Income Funeral Grant pays up to $2,697.43 and tests assets; its page says prepaid funeral cover can stop you getting it (Work and Income: Funeral Grant). Our pages on funeral insurance against saving and whether it is worth it go through the choice.
Where to get advice
The buttons on this page open Momentum Life's online application: Funeral Insurance (ages 40 to 75) and Quick Life (ages 18 to 65, life cover with different terms, including a 2-year exclusion of pre-existing conditions and suicide). If you are outside those ages, Momentum is not an option for you. Momentum Life Limited's financial strength rating from A.M. Best is B (Fair), affirmed 11 February 2026, which Momentum's own table places in its "Vulnerable" range; 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. A licensed adviser can compare your options on your own details. Advice is provided by Craig Smith Business Services Limited, trading as Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver, a licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931). This page is general information, not advice. Back to the funeral insurance hub.
Adviser's view
Final expense insurance is not a New Zealand product category. It is an imported name for what insurers here call funeral insurance or funeral cover. Those policies are real and ask no health questions, but the benefit is small, only accidents pay in the early months, and the premiums can add up to more than the benefit. Weigh them against saving the money yourself.
Talk to a licensed adviser about funeral cover · free, no obligation.
Cite this page QuoteHub NZ (2026). Final Expense Insurance NZ: What Kiwis Can Buy. www.quotehub.co.nz/funeral-insurance/final-expense-insurance-nz. Updated 2026-10-20.
References
- Momentum Life: Funeral Insurance Policy Wording (PDF, issue date 17 August 2023)
- Momentum Life: Financial Strength
- NZ Seniors: Funeral insurance
- OneChoice: Funeral insurance
- AA Life: Funeral cover
- Chubb: Funeral cover
- Greenwich Life: The Funeral Plan
- IFSO: Funeral insurance, what consumers need to know
- FDANZ: 2026 New Zealand Funeral Industry Trends Report (PDF)
- Work and Income: Funeral Grant
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