Applying for funeral insurance at age 75

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.

Yes. Momentum Life's Funeral Insurance accepts New Zealanders aged 40 to 75, so a 75-year-old can apply. A person aged 76 or over is outside that range. Benefits run from $3,000 to $30,000, and premiums stay level each year until the 89th birthday, which for a 75-year-old is at most 14 years of payments. For the first 24 months only accidental death pays.

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Funeral cover See your price Ages 40–75 · $3k–$30k Life cover See your price Ages 18–65 · $50k–$300k

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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.

Momentum's Funeral Insurance has guaranteed acceptance in its age range, with no medicals, health questions or paperwork. So the thing for a 75-year-old to look at is what the policy does over the next 24 months and the next 14 years. Under Momentum's Funeral Insurance, death in the first 24 months pays only if it is caused by an accident and happens within 90 days of it. Any other death in that window pays no benefit, and all premiums for that person are refunded. After 24 months it pays for death from any cause. Accidental death pays three times the benefit. The total premiums can exceed the benefit, and the benefit may not cover the whole funeral (Momentum Life: Funeral Insurance Policy Wording).

The cut-off: 75 in, 76 out

The wording says acceptance is guaranteed for New Zealanders aged 40 to 75, and lists the entry ages as "40 to 75 years". A person aged 75 is between their 75th and 76th birthdays.

Your situation	Momentum Funeral Insurance
Aged 74	Open
Aged 75, before your 76th birthday	Open: the last entry age
Turned 76	No new applications

The wording does not say whether age is tested on the day you apply or on the day Momentum accepts the application (the "Acceptance Date"). So do not leave it to the last week. The wording gives no further definition of "40 to 75 years", so reading 75 as "before the 76th birthday" is our reading; confirm with Momentum before relying on it. Momentum's other product, Quick Life, accepts ages 18 to 65, so it is closed at 75; it also excludes pre-existing conditions and suicide for its first 2 years.

The premium maths for a 75-year-old

Momentum publishes no funeral premium, and QuoteHub's Premium Index has no funeral rows, so there is no typical figure here. What we can do is the arithmetic that does not depend on the price. Premiums stop at the 89th birthday, so a 75-year-old pays for at most 14 years. The table shows the yearly premium at which 14 years of premiums would equal the benefit.

Benefit	A yearly premium of about this much totals the benefit over 14 years
$5,000	$357
$10,000	$714
$20,000	$1,429
$30,000	$2,143

If your quoted premium for a benefit is above the figure in its row, someone who lives to 89 pays more than the benefit; if below, less. Premiums stop when a claim is paid, so 14 years is the most anyone would pay. The break-even point is worth working out for your own quote with the funeral insurance break-even calculator. Level does not mean frozen: Momentum can change the rate for everyone on the plan on 30 days' written notice, but only for a change in tax or other law, or claims experience well away from what it expected. See when funeral insurance premiums stop.

What each outcome looks like

When the person dies	Cause	What Momentum's wording says
In the first 24 months	Accident, death within 90 days of it	Pays three times the benefit
In the first 24 months	Anything else	No benefit; all premiums for that person are refunded
After 24 months, any age	Any cause	Pays the benefit
After the 89th birthday	Any cause	No more premiums; cover continues for life

For someone who applies at 75, the 24-month window ends around age 77. There is no terminal illness benefit. If you increase the benefit later, the increase has its own new 24-month window.

Can an adult child apply for a 75-year-old parent?

An adult child can own a policy on a parent, because a parent counts as a "Relative" in the wording, and the beneficiary must be a person rather than a company, charity or funeral director. The parent still has to be aged 40 to 75 and a New Zealander as the wording defines it: living in New Zealand when the application is made 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. The wording does not say whether the insured person must agree, and we have not seen Momentum's application, so check with Momentum or an adviser. Our page on funeral insurance for parents goes further.

A checklist before the 76th birthday

Check the date. Count back from the birthday and allow time for the application to be accepted.
Check the residency rule above.
Pick an amount against the cost. FDANZ's 2026 report averages $11,700 for a 50-guest funeral with cremation, $14,300 with burial and $4,700 for an unattended cremation (FDANZ, 2026 Industry Trends Report).
Choose the payment method. Premiums are paid fortnightly, monthly or annually. Card payments carry a processing fee; the wording gives no percentage.
Name a beneficiary who is a person, and tell them and the executor where the papers are.
Use the 30-day free look, which runs from the acceptance date, if you change your mind.
Compare the alternatives below before you pay.

The Guaranteed Acceptance eligibility checker is a quick way to see which products suit your age.

If you are already 76 or older

Momentum has no product open to you. Other insurers publish entry ages beyond 75, as at 20 October 2026 from their own pages: NZ Seniors and OneChoice (to 79, accident-only for 12 months), AA Life (to 79, 24 months) and Chubb Life (to 80, 24 months). Not every insurer is included. See funeral insurance over 80 and funeral insurance over 75. Savings and prepaid plans are other routes. Work and Income's Funeral Grant is up to $2,697.43, depends on assets, and its page says prepaid funeral cover can stop you getting it (Work and Income: Funeral Grant).

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). Only Funeral Insurance is open at 75. 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 these options with others 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.