Funeral insurance for people with cancer in NZ

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, someone diagnosed with cancer can apply for Momentum Life's Funeral Insurance. It is open to New Zealanders aged 40 to 75 and asks no health questions. The catch is time. For the first 24 months it pays only for accidental death. If the person dies of cancer or any other illness in that period, no benefit is paid and all premiums for that person are refunded.

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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.

Can you get funeral insurance with cancer?

Funeral Insurance, issued by Momentum Life Limited, is a guaranteed-acceptance policy: no medicals, no health questions and no paperwork about your health. The benefit is $3,000 to $30,000, premiums are level until the 89th birthday, and cover then continues for life (Momentum Life: Funeral Insurance Policy Wording). The wording we read has no pre-existing-condition clause and no clause that treats a cancer diagnosis differently. The only early restriction is the 24-month rule. That differs from underwritten life insurance, where an insurer asks about your health and can postpone, load or decline.

The 24-month rule in plain words

During the first 24 months, the policy pays only if death is the direct result of an accident and happens within 90 days of it. In that case it pays three times the benefit. After 24 months, death from any cause is paid at the benefit. Illness is not an accident, so the table below is what the wording says.

What happens	First 24 months	After 24 months
Death from cancer or another illness	No benefit; all premiums for that person are refunded	The benefit is paid
Death from an accident, within 90 days of it	Three times the benefit	Three times the benefit

Increasing the benefit later starts a new 24-month window for the increase. There is no terminal illness benefit, so a diagnosis of terminal illness does not pay anything early.

If a death within two years is likely

This is the hardest part to say, so we say it directly. If a doctor expects death from cancer within 24 months of the policy starting, Funeral Insurance would normally pay nothing towards the funeral, and the premiums would be returned. It would not help the family meet costs. Nobody can say how long a person will live, so how much weight to give that is a judgement for the person and their family. Momentum's Quick Life page says that product is not available to applicants diagnosed with a terminal illness or in palliative or hospice care (Momentum Life: Quick Life). We did not find the same sentence for Funeral Insurance, so check Momentum's current terms at application. If the prognosis is longer or uncertain, the choice is yours to weigh against saving the same money.

How other funeral policies treat the early months

The windows differ, and for someone with cancer the difference matters more than the price. From each insurer's own pages as at 20 October 2026:

	Entry age	Accident-only window	Other death inside it	Terminal illness benefit
Momentum Life Funeral Insurance	40 to 75	24 months	All premiums refunded	None
NZ Seniors and OneChoice (Pinnacle Life)	18 to 79	12 months	OneChoice says no refund after the cooling-off period	Yes, 12 months or less to live
AA Life (Asteron Life)	50 to 79	24 months	100% refund	After 24 months
Chubb Life	50 to 80	24 months	100% refund	None found

Compared: Momentum Life, NZ Seniors, OneChoice, AA Life and Chubb Life, on entry age, early window, refund and terminal illness benefit, 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. A shorter window is not automatically better: NZ Seniors and OneChoice do not refund premiums on an illness death inside it, and we could not confirm from their pages how the terminal illness benefit applies in the first year. Read each wording. Our funeral insurance comparison has the full set, and terminal illness and funeral insurance goes deeper.

Cancer in remission and other cover

Funeral insurance is not the only product. Asteron says cover may be possible after cancer when you are in remission and otherwise healthy, with terms depending on the diagnosis date, the type and severity of the cancer and the treatment, and a postponement period "anywhere between a year to ten years" (Asteron Life: If I had cancer, can I still get life insurance?). No insurer promises acceptance in advance. Momentum's Quick Life, for ages 18 to 65, also asks no health questions, but excludes pre-existing conditions and suicide for the first 2 years, and a cancer diagnosed or treated in the two years before the start would normally fall within the pre-existing definition. If death from a pre-existing condition happens in that time and no claim is payable, premiums are refunded. See life insurance with cancer.

Other ways to meet funeral costs

Work and Income Funeral Grant. Up to $2,697.43, tested on income where the person who died was a partner or child, and on assets. Prepaid funeral cover can stop you getting it (Work and Income: Funeral Grant). See the funeral grant guide.
Setting money aside. FDANZ's 2026 report gives an average of $4,700 for an unattended cremation, $11,700 for a full funeral with cremation and $14,300 with burial (FDANZ, 2026 New Zealand Funeral Industry Trends Report).
A prepaid plan. Prepaid funeral expenses of up to $10,000 each for you and your partner, held in a recognised funeral plan, are not counted as an asset in the residential care subsidy test (Work and Income: Residential Care Subsidy).
Help when money is tight. Can't afford a funeral lists the options.

An adult child can own a Funeral Insurance policy on a parent, because a parent counts as a relative under the wording. The same rules apply to the early months.

Before you apply

Total premiums can end up larger than the benefit, and the benefit may not cover the whole funeral. Funeral Insurance is not a savings plan. There is a 30-day free look from the acceptance date, with a full refund if no claim has been made. Over 75, Momentum does not accept new applicants. Momentum Life Limited's A.M. Best rating is B (Fair), which Momentum's own table places in its "Vulnerable" range; see its financial strength page. The buttons on this page open Momentum Life's online application. QuoteHub is a Momentum Life partner, and Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver may receive a commission if you buy; 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). More on how the policy works is at how funeral insurance works and is funeral insurance worth it. Back to the funeral insurance hub.

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

A cancer diagnosis does not stop an application for Momentum Life's Funeral Insurance, which asks no health questions for ages 40 to 75. But for the first 24 months it pays only for accidental death. If the person dies of cancer in that time, no benefit is paid and the premiums are refunded. When a death within two years is likely, this cover is not a way to pay for the funeral, and other help may suit better.

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

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Cite this page QuoteHub NZ (2026). Funeral Insurance With Cancer NZ: Key Limits. www.quotehub.co.nz/funeral-insurance/funeral-insurance-with-cancer-nz. Updated 2026-10-20.

References

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