Funeral insurance and life cover in your 40s
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.
Momentum Life's Funeral Insurance accepts New Zealanders from age 40 to 75 with no health questions, for a benefit of $3,000 to $30,000. A healthy person in their 40s can usually get more cover for less through fully underwritten life insurance, arranged with a licensed adviser. Funeral cover started at 40 also means up to 49 years of premiums.
What opens at 40
Several guaranteed-acceptance funeral policies have entry ages that start in the 40s or earlier, as at 20 October 2026, from each insurer's own pages:
| Provider | Entry age | Benefit | Early window |
|---|---|---|---|
| Momentum Life | 40 to 75 | $3,000 to $30,000 | 24 months, accident only |
| NZ Seniors and OneChoice (Pinnacle Life) | 18 to 79 | $3,000 to $30,000 | 12 months, accident only |
| Unity | 18 to 75 | $5,000 to $15,000 by cover type | Applies, length not stated |
| Greenwich Life, The Funeral Plan | 30 to 70 | $5,000 to $20,000 (web page) | 24 months |
| AA Life and Chubb Life | 50 and over | Up to $30,000 | Not yet open at 40 |
Compared: Momentum Life, NZ Seniors, OneChoice, Unity, Greenwich Life, AA Life and Chubb Life, on entry age, benefit and early window, as at 20 October 2026, from each insurer's published pages. Not every New Zealand insurer is included, and this is one adviser's reading, not a score. If you are younger than 40, see funeral insurance under 40.
Momentum's Funeral Insurance rules for someone in their 40s
The details come from the policy wording (Momentum Life: Funeral Insurance Policy Wording).
- Acceptance is guaranteed: no medicals, health questions or paperwork about your health.
- The yearly premium is fixed until the 89th birthday, after which payments stop and cover carries on for life. The rate can change for everyone on the plan on 30 days' notice, for tax or law changes or for claims experience.
- For the first 24 months, only accidental death pays, where death is within 90 days of the accident, at three times the benefit. Any other death in that time pays no benefit and all premiums for that person are refunded. After 24 months, death from any cause pays the benefit.
- The benefit may not cover the cost of a whole funeral, and total premiums could exceed the benefit.
How premiums add up from 40 to 89
Momentum publishes no funeral premium, and QuoteHub does not publish one for any insurer, so the table below is a method, not a price. The yearly figures are round numbers chosen only to show the arithmetic, using a $10,000 benefit as the example. Someone who starts at 40 and keeps the policy to the 89th birthday pays for 49 years.
| Yearly premium (illustration) | Paid by age 60 (20 years) | Paid by age 75 (35 years) | Paid to age 89 (49 years) | Years until total equals $10,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $300 | $6,000 | $10,500 | $14,700 | about 34 |
| $400 | $8,000 | $14,000 | $19,600 | 25 |
| $500 | $10,000 | $17,500 | $24,500 | 20 |
At any of these figures, someone who lives to 89 pays more in premiums than the $10,000 benefit. Someone who dies in their 60s may pay less. Nobody can know which, which is why the policy wording itself says total premiums could exceed the benefit. The same yearly amount put into a savings account would build a similar total before interest, and would remain yours whether or not you ever needed it. See funeral insurance versus saving. Independent comparison sites show prices roughly doubling between 50 and 70 (Moneyhub), so starting earlier lowers the yearly cost but lengthens the payment period. A calculator for your own numbers is at funeral cost calculator.
Why healthy people in their 40s should look at underwritten cover first
Funeral insurance is a small, fixed benefit. At 40, a more common need is a larger sum for dependants or a mortgage, which underwritten life insurance is built for. QuoteHub's Premium Index, a snapshot of insurers' published rate cards as at 8 September 2026, shows the scale of cover available to a 40-year-old non-smoker on stepped premiums, class 1 occupation and standard rates:
| Cover, age 40, non-smoker | Indicative monthly cost across the insurers that priced it |
|---|---|
| $500,000, man | $40 to $50 |
| $500,000, woman | $35 to $40 |
| $250,000, man | $25 to $65 |
| $250,000, woman | $20 to $55 |
The $500,000 rows are from five insurers' rate cards (AIA, Asteron Life, Chubb Life, Fidelity Life and Partners Life), none of them Momentum Life, which priced only $250,000. The $250,000 rows add Momentum Life, which prices only that amount, and the range is wide because they span guaranteed-acceptance and underwritten products. Your own premium depends on underwriting, and stepped premiums rise each year with age: the same $500,000 for a 60-year-old man is about $300 to $375 a month. These figures are ranges, not quotes; see the Premium Index and an insurer's own rate page such as Fidelity Life's. Some life policies also advance money early towards funeral costs after a death, for example Fidelity's LifeProtect wording, which allows an advance of $25,000 deducted from the sum insured (Fidelity Life: LifeProtect Life Cover wording).
A healthy person can usually get more cover for less with fully underwritten cover through an adviser. Guaranteed acceptance suits people who would be declined or loaded elsewhere, or who want cover in place without health questions.
Choosing between quick cover and an adviser
- Ask what you are trying to cover. A funeral only, or dependants and debts as well.
- Look at underwritten life cover first if you are healthy and have people who rely on you.
- Consider a small funeral benefit if you want a whole-of-life lump sum and are comfortable that premiums may add up to more than it pays.
- Consider saving instead, which carries no waiting period and no premium that can change.
Today's funeral costs are only a guide for a policy that may not pay out for decades: FDANZ's 2026 survey of typical prices averages $11,700 for a cremation funeral and $14,300 for a burial funeral (FDANZ, 2026 New Zealand Funeral Industry Trends Report), and those figures will not be the same in 30 or 40 years.
Where to get advice
Momentum Life Limited's A.M. Best rating is B (Fair), in the "Vulnerable" range of Momentum's own table; see its financial strength page. The buttons on this page open Momentum Life's online application, one option among those in the table above. Complaints about a Momentum policy go to Momentum first, then to the Insurance & Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme (IFSO), which is free. 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 Momentum Life Funeral Cover and is funeral insurance worth it.
Adviser's view
Momentum Life's Funeral Insurance opens at 40 with no health questions, but a policy started at 40 means up to 49 years of premiums for a benefit of $3,000 to $30,000, and the total can pass the benefit. A healthy person in their 40s is usually better served by looking at fully underwritten life cover first, then deciding whether a small funeral benefit is still wanted, or whether to save the money.
Talk to a licensed adviser about funeral cover · free, no obligation.
Cite this page QuoteHub NZ (2026). Funeral Insurance Over 40 NZ: Options in Your 40s. www.quotehub.co.nz/funeral-insurance/funeral-insurance-over-40-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
- Unity: Funeral insurance
- Greenwich Life: The Funeral Plan
- Fidelity Life: Life cover
- Fidelity Life: LifeProtect Life Cover wording, effective 22 September 2026 (PDF)
- Moneyhub: Funeral insurance
- FDANZ: 2026 New Zealand Funeral Industry Trends Report (PDF)
Explore related pages: Life Insurance, Income Protection, Health Insurance, Trauma Insurance, For Brokers.