Entry ages and ongoing funeral cover eligibility

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.

Funeral insurance age limits in New Zealand are limits on when you can apply. Momentum Life's Funeral Insurance accepts new applicants aged 40 to 75. Once the policy is in force, cover continues for life and premiums end on the insured person's 89th birthday. Momentum's Quick Life, a different product, takes new applicants from 18 to 65. Other insurers set their own bands.

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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.

Entry age and continuing cover are different things

An entry age limit is the youngest and oldest age at which an insurer will accept a new application. It says nothing about when cover ends. Momentum Life's Funeral Insurance wording lists the "minimum and maximum age at entry" as 40 to 75 and the benefit expiry as "cover for life", with no premiums from age 89 (Momentum Life: Funeral Insurance Policy Wording, 17 August 2023). So a person who joins at 60 is covered at 80, at 95 and beyond, provided the premiums are paid until 89 and the policy has not been cancelled. A person who turns 76 without a policy cannot start a new Momentum Funeral policy. That is the whole rule, and most confusion about "age limits" comes from mixing the two halves.

Entry ages across the funeral products we compared

Each insurer sets its own band. These are the stated entry ages as at 20 October 2026, from each provider's own pages and documents.

Provider (underwriter)	Product	Entry age
Momentum Life	Funeral Insurance	40 to 75
Momentum Life	Quick Life (life cover, not funeral cover)	18 to 65
NZ Seniors and OneChoice (Pinnacle Life)	Funeral insurance	18 to 79
AA Life (Asteron Life)	Funeral Cover	50 to 79
Chubb Life	Funeral Cover	50 to 80
Greenwich Life (Autosure)	The Funeral Plan	30 to 70
Unity (Pinnacle Life)	Funeral insurance	18 to 75

The highest entry age we found is 80, at Chubb Life. We found no product on this list that accepts new funeral applicants above 80. Our funeral insurance comparison sets these against benefit range, early-death window and rating.

An age timeline for Momentum's two products

Age	Momentum Funeral Insurance	Momentum Quick Life
Under 18	Not open	Not open
18 to 39	Not open	Open, aged 18 to 65
40 to 65	Open	Open
66 to 75	Open (last entry age 75)	Not open to new applicants
75	Last age to apply	Premiums, which generally increase each year until then, become fixed; $20,000 of the benefit becomes free
76 and over	Not open to new applicants	Not open to new applicants
89	Premiums end; cover continues for life	Premiums continue, fixed

Sources: the Funeral Insurance wording (printed pages 6 to 14) and the Quick Life Insurance Policy Wording, November 2025 (Momentum Life: Quick Life wording). The Quick Life row at 75 reflects the wording: premiums are recalculated each year and "generally increase", then are fixed from 75, and at 75 the wording offers an election between a free $20,000 funeral benefit and continuing Quick Life.

What is the minimum entry age for Momentum Funeral?

It is 40. Under 40, Momentum's Funeral Insurance is not available, although other products are: NZ Seniors, OneChoice and Unity start at 18 and Greenwich Life at 30. Quick Life starts at 18 but is a different product, a lump sum of $50,000 to $300,000, and is not funeral cover. If you are under 40 the better question is usually whether you need funeral-specific cover at all; see funeral cover under 50.

What is the maximum entry age for Momentum Funeral?

It is 75. You also have to be a "New Zealander" as the wording defines it: living in New Zealand when you apply and either an NZ or Australian citizen, a permanent resident visa holder, or someone who has been in New Zealand continuously for at least 12 months on a valid temporary work visa. Acceptance is guaranteed within that band, with no medicals, health questions or paperwork.

The wording gives one band for the product. If you are adding a second or third person to a family policy, confirm with Momentum that each person is inside 40 to 75 before you rely on it.

Can I keep funeral cover after age 75?

Yes, if the policy started on or before your 75th birthday. Three things to know:

Premiums. The rate is fixed each year until the insured person's 89th birthday, then payments end. Momentum can change the rate only for everyone on the same offer, for a change in tax or other law or claims experience well off expectations, and it must give 30 days' written notice.
The early window runs from the start. In the first 24 months only accidental death (death within 90 days of an accident) is paid. A person who applies at 75 is in that window until 77. If they die of anything else in that time, no benefit is paid and all premiums for them are refunded.
Cost. Momentum publishes no funeral premium and we print none. Independent price tables show prices roughly doubling between 50 and 70 (Moneyhub: Funeral insurance), so applying later means paying more each year for the same benefit.

What about Quick Life age limits?

Quick Life accepts ages 18 to 65, with "no health questions or medical exams". The wording adds a rule worth knowing: if the life insured's true age when cover started was over 65, the policy is void and all premiums are refunded. Do not apply close to the boundary without checking how Momentum counts age. As with Funeral Insurance, the age limit is for starting; once in force, Quick Life cover extends for life. For its first two years, pre-existing conditions and suicide are excluded. See the Quick Life page and funeral insurance at 65.

Is there funeral insurance with no age limit?

Not as new cover, as far as we can find. Every product in the table has a maximum entry age, and the highest is 80. Existing policies continue past those ages, and some products' premiums stop at an age such as 85 or 89 or when the total paid equals the benefit. If you are older than the limits, options include:

funeral insurance over 80 and guaranteed acceptance life insurance over 75, which cover what exists and what does not;
a prepaid funeral plan or savings, compared in funeral insurance versus a prepaid funeral;
the Work and Income Funeral Grant of up to $2,697.43, which has income and asset tests and can be affected by prepaid funeral cover (Work and Income: Funeral Grant).

How do age limits affect my application?

Three practical effects. First, your age on the application date decides which products are open, so a birthday can close a door: the Quick Life boundary is at 65 and the Momentum Funeral boundary at 75. Second, the older you are when you apply, the more likely it is that a death falls inside the 24-month window, where only an accident pays, and the higher the premium is likely to be. Third, total premiums over a long life can end up larger than the benefit, and the benefit may not cover the whole funeral. For scale, FDANZ's 2026 survey averages $11,700 for a cremation funeral and $14,300 for a burial funeral, both for 50 guests (FDANZ, 2026 New Zealand Funeral Industry Trends Report); Momentum's maximum Funeral Insurance benefit is $30,000.

If you can answer health questions, fully underwritten life cover through a licensed adviser may offer more cover and often costs less if you are accepted on standard terms.

Where to get advice

Momentum Life Limited is rated B (Fair) by A.M. Best, a rating Momentum's own table groups in its "Vulnerable" range; read its financial strength page. The buttons on this page open Momentum Life's online application, one option among the products above. 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. General information, not advice. Financial 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, or read the Momentum Life Funeral Cover page.