Funeral funding and life insurance under 40

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.

Momentum Life's Funeral Insurance is not available to anyone under 40. Its entry ages are 40 to 75, so if you are under 40 you cannot buy it. Quick Life, Momentum's guaranteed-acceptance life cover, accepts ages 18 to 65 with no health questions, but it is life insurance rather than funeral cover, and it excludes pre-existing conditions and suicide for the first 2 years.

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

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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.

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.

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.

Funeral insurance is a small fixed benefit, from $3,000 to $30,000 at Momentum, paid on death in return for a regular premium. At Momentum, premiums are level each year until the 89th birthday, so a policy bought at 40 means 49 years of payments, and for a 30-year-old it would be more. Total premiums can end up larger than the benefit, and the benefit may not cover the whole funeral. Under 40, the realistic choices are another insurer's funeral policy, life cover that also pays for the funeral, or saving. Each has trade-offs, set out below.

Can I get funeral insurance under 40 in NZ?

Not from Momentum, but a few insurers sell funeral cover at younger ages. Entry ages below are from each insurer's own pages, read on 17 to 20 October 2026.

Your age	Funeral policies that accept new applicants
18 to 29	NZ Seniors and OneChoice (18 to 79), Unity (18 to 75)
30 to 39	The above, plus Greenwich Life's The Funeral Plan (30 to 70)
40 and over	Momentum Life's Funeral Insurance also opens at 40

Their rules differ. NZ Seniors and OneChoice, both issued by Pinnacle Life, pay only for accidental death in the first 12 months, and OneChoice says you cannot get a refund of premiums after the cooling-off period. Greenwich Life's plan has a 24-month window with premiums refunded for another cause, and premiums stop once the total paid equals the benefit, which is the only plan we found where total premiums cannot pass the benefit. Unity applies a waiting period but its page does not state how long (NZ Seniors, OneChoice, Greenwich Life, Unity). Compare them on the funeral insurance hub, and see funeral cover under 50 for the next age band.

Why is funeral insurance not available under 40 at Momentum?

Momentum's wording sets the entry age at 40 to 75 and does not say why (Momentum Life: Funeral Insurance Policy Wording, 17 Aug 2023). We have no source for the reason, so we do not guess. What the wording does show is the structure: a level premium until the 89th birthday, with a 24-month window in which only an accidental death pays.

For a younger buyer, the long premium period is the point to weigh. The Insurance & Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme (IFSO) has dealt with a complaint about a $20,000 funeral policy with premiums to age 90 and no warning that they could exceed the sum insured. The insurer refunded all premiums, and IFSO's case note says "It is not a savings product" (IFSO: Funeral insurance case).

What is Quick Life, and does it cover funerals?

Quick Life is a lump-sum life insurance policy issued by Momentum Life Limited. It is not funeral-specific. In summary:

Ages and cover. 18 to 65, from $50,000 to $300,000 per person, rising 3% each anniversary to age 75 or a $500,000 cap (you can opt out of an increase).
No health questions. Applicants are accepted automatically if they meet the age and residency rules (Momentum Life: Quick Life Insurance Policy Wording, November 2025).
The first 2 years. Accidental death and new conditions are covered. Pre-existing conditions, and suicide or intentional self-harm, are not. If a person dies of a pre-existing condition in the first 24 months and no claim is payable, premiums are refunded.
Always excluded. Effects of alcohol or drugs (unless prescribed and taken as instructed), war, terrorism, criminal activity, and listed dangerous jobs or pastimes such as professional sport or diving deeper than 40 metres.
Premiums. Stepped: they are recalculated each year and generally rise until 75, when they are fixed.
Funeral link. At 75, $20,000 of the benefit becomes free, and the policyholder can elect a free $20,000 funeral benefit or continue Quick Life with the free component. That is a long way off for most people under 40.

Terminal illness is covered, with the 2-year exclusion for pre-existing conditions. See the Quick Life page for the full rules, and keep in mind that Quick Life is not designed as funeral cover and its exclusions differ from Funeral Insurance.

Should I buy life insurance instead?

For many people under 40 the question is not "how do I fund my funeral" but "who depends on my income". Life insurance pays a sum large enough to cover a funeral and everything else a family would need. It is also the main way to protect a mortgage or children.

If you are healthy, fully underwritten cover through a licensed adviser can usually offer more cover for less than guaranteed acceptance. Fidelity and Chubb, for example, need only an application form or personal statement up to $500,000 at every age band (Chubb: Essential underwriting guide, May 2025; Fidelity Life: Underwriting guide, October 2025). You still answer health questions, and the insurer may add loadings or exclusions, so acceptance is never certain.

For scale, QuoteHub's Premium Index shows indicative monthly cost from insurers' published rate cards as at 8 September 2026. For $500,000 of stepped life cover at age 30, non-smoker, occupation class 1, the range across the insurers that priced it is $30 to $40 a month for a man and $20 to $30 for a woman. Smokers pay more, about $50 to $80 for a man. Your own premium depends on underwriting; see the method, the life insurance rate tables and, as one insurer's own page, Fidelity Life. Stepped premiums are re-priced every year, so buying young locks in your insurability, not today's price.

Some life policies also pay a funeral sum early. Kiwibank's life cover, provided by nib nz limited, includes a $15,000 lump sum for funeral expenses at no extra cost (Kiwibank: Life insurance), and Southern Cross Life's Bereavement Support Benefit pays up to $25,000 of life cover early (Southern Cross Life). See also life insurance in your 30s.

How much cover do I need under 40?

Start with the funeral. The Funeral Directors Association of New Zealand (FDANZ) 2026 report gives an average of $11,700 for a cremation and $14,300 for a burial, for a full funeral with 50 guests, and $4,700 for an unattended cremation (FDANZ: 2026 New Zealand Funeral Industry Trends Report). A funeral policy's $3,000 to $30,000 range fits that scale. Then add what the people who depend on you would need: debts, a mortgage, childcare and lost income. Those are life cover questions, and amounts above $30,000 are beyond the benefit limits of the funeral policies compared on this page.

What about accidental death cover?

If your worry is a sudden accident, note that Quick Life pays on accidental death from the first day, and underwritten accident-only cover also exists. AIA's Accidental Death cover runs from 16 to 60, up to $500,000, and expires at 65 (AIA: Life insurance). Accident-only cover does not pay for illness.

What if I only want to set money aside?

A dedicated savings account has no waiting period, no premiums that can outrun the benefit, and the money stays yours if you never need it. Its weakness is that early death leaves the account short. Read funeral insurance vs saving for a funeral and is funeral insurance worth it for the comparison, and our cost guide for why we do not publish exact premiums.

How do I apply?

The buttons on this page open Momentum Life's online application. Funeral Insurance is for ages 40 to 75, so it will not accept you under 40; Quick Life accepts 18 to 65. Momentum's A.M. Best rating is B (Fair); 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 other insurers on your details. Advice is provided by Craig Smith Business Services Limited, trading as Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver, a licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931).