Funeral cover after you were declined in NZ

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.

If an insurer has declined you for life insurance, you can still apply for funeral insurance in the right age range, because Momentum's Funeral Insurance and several other funeral policies ask no health questions. Momentum Life's Funeral Insurance accepts New Zealanders aged 40 to 75. The catch is the wait: for the first 24 months it pays only for accidental death, and any other death returns the premiums and pays nothing.

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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.

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 decline means one insurer, after assessing your health or other details, chose not to offer you cover on its terms. It is not a ruling that you are uninsurable. Guaranteed-acceptance products work differently: the insurer sets its age and residency rules in advance, asks no health questions and limits what it pays in the early months instead. Under Momentum's Funeral Insurance, acceptance is guaranteed for New Zealanders aged 40 to 75 with no medicals, health questions or paperwork. In the first 24 months it pays only if death is caused by an accident and happens within 90 days of it. After 24 months it pays for death from any cause. The total premiums can exceed the benefit, and the benefit may not cover the whole funeral (Momentum Life: Funeral Insurance Policy Wording).

A decision path after a decline

Work down the table. It sets out what is open, not what you should buy.

Question	If yes	If no
Are you aged 40 to 75, and a New Zealander as the wording defines it?	Momentum Funeral Insurance is open: $3,000 to $30,000, no health questions	Not open from Momentum. Other funeral policies take younger or older people (below)
Do you want a larger sum than a funeral policy offers?	Momentum's Quick Life (ages 18 to 65, $50,000 to $300,000) has no health questions, with a 2-year pre-existing condition exclusion	Funeral cover is the product that matches a funeral-sized need
Does the condition behind the decline mean death could come within two years?	Read the next section: in the early months neither product pays for a death from an existing illness	Either product behaves as written
(Quick Life only) Do you have a terminal diagnosis, or are you in palliative or hospice care?	Momentum's own Quick Life page says it is not available to applicants diagnosed with a terminal illness, or in palliative or hospice care	Go on

"New Zealander" in the Funeral wording 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.

What guaranteed acceptance does not change

The two Momentum products keep a limit on the early months.

Funeral Insurance, first 24 months: accidental death only, within 90 days of the accident. Another cause of death pays nothing, and all premiums for that person are refunded. An increase in the benefit, or an added person, starts a new 24-month window for that increase or person.
Quick Life, first 2 years: pre-existing conditions and suicide are excluded. Pre-existing means any illness, condition or symptoms in the 2 years before the start, including treatment or advice, symptoms "even if undiagnosed", and named markers such as a BMI over 40, cholesterol over 7.0, very high blood pressure or diabetes complications. If a person dies of a pre-existing condition in that time and no claim is payable, premiums are refunded. After 2 years pre-existing conditions are covered, except some specific conditions that can be permanently excluded and listed in the policy schedule (Momentum Life: Quick Life Insurance Policy Wording).

So the reason you were declined usually decides how much a guaranteed-acceptance policy is worth to you in the early months. For the life-cover side of this question see life insurance after a decline, and for the early-window rule see the refund in the first 24 months.

Other funeral policies, and why a decline from one insurer is not the end

Other insurers sell funeral cover with different ages and early windows, as at 20 October 2026 from their own pages. NZ Seniors, OneChoice and Chubb Life describe theirs as guaranteed acceptance; check what AA Life and Greenwich Life ask before you apply. Entry ages and early windows are: NZ Seniors and OneChoice (18 to 79, accident-only for 12 months), AA Life (50 to 79, 24 months, 100% of premiums refunded for another cause), Chubb Life (50 to 80, 24 months) and Greenwich Life (30 to 70, 24 months). Not every insurer is included. See how the options compare.

Insurers that do ask health questions treat applicants differently. Asteron says that with an existing condition it can usually still offer cover by adding a stand-down period, raising the premium, or excluding the condition permanently or for a set time (Asteron). That is not a promise of acceptance, and each insurer decides for itself. A licensed adviser can approach several insurers for you.

If you go back to an insurer that asks questions, answer completely. IFSO case notes show insurers avoiding or reducing claims where something material was not disclosed (IFSO). A new insurer also sees your full history (IFSO: Life insurance). If you already hold other cover, keep it running until any new policy is in force (FMA: Insurance).

Is guaranteed-acceptance funeral cover worth it after a decline?

It can be, if the decline leaves you with no other cover and you understand the early-months rule. It can be poor value if the condition behind the decline makes a death inside 24 months likely, since the policy then returns your premiums instead of paying. Weigh these.

For: no health questions; a fixed sum after 24 months from any cause; payment usually within 24 to 48 hours of claim approval.
Against: the early-months limit; premiums that can total more than the benefit; no terminal illness benefit under Momentum's Funeral Insurance.
Alternatives: savings set aside for the funeral, a prepaid funeral plan, or asking the estate to meet the cost. The Work and Income Funeral Grant is capped at $2,697.43 and is tested on assets; prepaid funeral cover can stop you getting it (Work and Income: Funeral Grant). For scale, FDANZ's 2026 survey gives averages of $11,700 (cremation) and $14,300 (burial) for a 50-guest funeral (FDANZ, 2026 Industry Trends Report).

Our guaranteed acceptance hub explains how these policies work more broadly.

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). Check your age against each before you start. 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 look at the decline, your age and your budget together. 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.

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

A decline for underwritten cover does not close off funeral insurance, because Momentum's Funeral Insurance and several other funeral policies ask no health questions. But the reason you were declined usually matters in the early months: only accidents pay in the first 24 months, so a death from the condition behind the decline returns premiums and pays nothing. Know that before you start paying.

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

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Cite this page QuoteHub NZ (2026). Funeral Cover After You Were Declined NZ. www.quotehub.co.nz/funeral-insurance/funeral-insurance-after-a-decline-nz. Updated 2026-10-20.