Funeral insurance options over 50

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 you are over 50 in New Zealand, Momentum Life's Funeral Insurance accepts new applicants aged 40 to 75, with no health questions, for a benefit of $3,000 to $30,000. A healthy person may get more cover for less through fully underwritten life insurance arranged with a licensed adviser. Funeral cover started at 50 can mean up to 39 years of premiums.

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.

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.

What is open to you at 50

Funeral insurance is a small fixed benefit paid on death that is meant to go towards funeral costs. At 50, every guaranteed-acceptance funeral policy we looked at is open to you, 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
AA Life (Asteron Life)	50 to 79	$5,000 to $30,000	24 months
Chubb Life	50 to 80	Up to $30,000	24 months
Greenwich Life	30 to 70	$5,000 to $20,000 (web page)	24 months
Unity	18 to 75	$5,000 to $15,000 by cover type	Applies, length not stated

AA Life and Chubb Life open exactly at 50. The full comparison, including refunds, premium end ages and ratings, is in our funeral insurance comparison. The rest of this page sticks to Momentum Life's product and the choice between funeral cover and life cover.

Momentum Life's Funeral Insurance at 50

The rules come from the policy wording (Momentum Life: Funeral Insurance Policy Wording, 17 August 2023):

Entry: 40 to 75, for New Zealanders as the wording defines them (living in NZ, and an NZ or Australian citizen, a permanent resident visa holder, or in NZ continuously for at least 12 months on a temporary work visa).
First 24 months: the benefit is paid only if death is the direct result of an accident and occurs within 90 days of it. Any other death in that time pays no benefit, and all premiums paid for that person are refunded. After 24 months, death from any cause is covered.
Accidental death: pays three times the benefit, at any time, where death happens within 90 days of the accident.
Premiums: fixed each year until the 89th birthday, then they stop and cover continues for life. They can change for everyone on the same offer on 30 days' notice, for a change in tax or other law or for claims experience.
No health questions, no pre-existing-condition clause, no terminal illness benefit.
Total cost: the wording says total premiums could exceed the benefit and the benefit may not cover the whole funeral.

Funeral insurance or underwritten life cover at 50

Underwritten life cover asks about your health, and may involve medical records or tests, before the insurer decides the price. Asteron, for example, says it can usually still offer cover with an existing condition by adding a stand-down, raising the premium, or excluding the condition (Asteron). Upper entry ages are above 50: AIA Living Life Cover is open from 10 to 70 (AIA), and Fidelity Life's cover has an entry age of 16 to 75 (Fidelity Life).

	Funeral Insurance	Underwritten life cover
Health questions	None	Yes, and tests are possible
Amount	$3,000 to $30,000	Set by you and the insurer; the Premium Index below prices $500,000
Early restriction	24 months, accident only	Set by each insurer's wording; ask. Wrong answers to health questions can reduce or void a claim
Premium shape	Level to the 89th birthday	Stepped (rises yearly) or level for a term
Purpose	A fixed small benefit towards funeral costs	Broader cover, for example debts and dependants

Price is where healthy people most often come out ahead. QuoteHub's Premium Index shows indicative monthly costs from insurers' published rate cards as at 8 September 2026, for $500,000 of stepped life cover, non-smoker, standard rates. At 50 the range across the insurers that priced it, in monthly cost, was $90 to $120 for a man and $80 to $100 for a woman. For smokers it was $200 to $275 and $150 to $190. Your own premium depends on underwriting. Momentum is not in the $500,000 rows, so these are not a comparison with its products. See the quotes page and its method.

Funeral insurance can still make sense when you cannot or do not want to answer health questions. See funeral insurance versus life insurance for the full contrast.

What 39 years of premiums can add up to

Premiums run to the 89th birthday, so a 50-year-old can pay for up to 39 years. Momentum publishes no funeral premium and neither does QuoteHub, so this example uses a round number that is not a Momentum price. Say a policy cost $600 a year for a $10,000 benefit (a made-up figure, not a Momentum or other insurer's price): 39 years would total $23,400. You can cancel earlier, and the premium can change.

Try your own figures in the break-even calculator once you have a quote. More on the question in is funeral insurance worth it.

If you have health conditions

Funeral Insurance has no health questions and no pre-existing-condition clause, so a health condition is not part of the application. It still pays only for accidental death in the first 24 months. Quick Life, Momentum's guaranteed acceptance life cover, is also open at 50 (ages 18 to 65, $50,000 to $300,000). It excludes pre-existing conditions and suicide for the first 2 years, and its premiums are stepped to age 75. See Momentum Life's Quick Life. It is a different product from funeral cover.

Questions to ask before you apply

What is the premium for my age, amount and payment method, and what could it total by 89?
Do I need a funeral benefit if I can set money aside instead?
Would underwritten cover, quoted first, cost less for the same or more cover?
What happens if I die in the first 24 months of something other than an accident?

Where to get advice

The buttons on this page open Momentum Life's online application, one option among several insurers. Momentum Life Limited holds an A.M. Best rating of B (Fair), which Momentum's own table groups as "Vulnerable" (Momentum Life: Financial Strength). A rating is an opinion, not a recommendation. 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. 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 see funeral insurance over 60 and Momentum Life Funeral Cover.

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

Funeral insurance at 50 is simple and asks no health questions, but for a healthy person it is often a more expensive way to buy each dollar of cover than underwritten life cover, and it can mean nearly 40 years of premiums. If your health is good, get a quote for underwritten life cover first and then decide whether you want a separate funeral benefit. If you have health conditions, guaranteed acceptance may be your realistic route.

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

Talk to a licensed adviser about funeral cover · free, no obligation.

Cite this page QuoteHub NZ (2026). Funeral Insurance Over 50 NZ: Compare Your Options. www.quotehub.co.nz/funeral-insurance/funeral-insurance-over-50-nz. Updated 2026-10-20.

References

Explore related pages: Life Insurance, Income Protection, Health Insurance, Trauma Insurance, Referral.