How to make a funeral insurance claim

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.

To claim on a Momentum Life Funeral Insurance policy, the policy owner, a nominated beneficiary or the executor contacts Momentum on 0800 108 108 or at [email protected], completes the claim form and supplies proof of the death, such as a death certificate. Valid claims are usually paid within 24 to 48 hours of approval. If the person died within 24 months of the cover start date from anything other than an accident (a death within 90 days of it), no benefit is paid, and the premiums paid for that person are refunded instead.

If you are reading this soon after a death, we are sorry. This page is written to be practical: what to do, in what order, and what to expect. It covers Momentum Life's Funeral Insurance (and says so where it is general). If the policy is with another insurer, the policy schedule names it; contact that insurer using the same steps.

The steps

Find the policy schedule. It names the insurer, the policy owner, any nominated beneficiaries, the benefit and the cover start date. If you cannot find a schedule, look through papers, emails and bank statements for regular premium payments. The wording says valid claims are paid to the owner, so working out who owns the policy matters (see "Who is paid" below).
Check the policy is in force. Momentum will not pay a claim unless all premiums due have been paid and the policy had not been cancelled when the death happened. If a payment was missed, tell Momentum when you call; do not guess.
Contact Momentum. Claims: 0800 108 108, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm NZST; [email protected]; or write to Claims Manager, Momentum Life, PO Box 90136, Victoria St West, Auckland 1142 (Momentum Life: Claims). The funeral benefit claim form can be downloaded from Momentum's website, or Momentum will send you one.
Complete the form and send the proof. The wording says the claimant must give "sufficient proof of the claim" at their own expense. See the next section.
Wait for approval, then payment. The wording says valid claims are paid "usually within 24 - 48 hours of approval". It gives no time for approval itself, and Momentum's claims page lists no timeframe or document checklist.

What proof does Momentum ask for?

The Funeral Insurance wording (issue date 17 August 2023, page 8) says the proof may include:

a form completed by a medical practitioner, which Momentum supplies to the claimant;
any other medical or other information Momentum reasonably requires, including tests or results; and
"the appropriate certification", for example a death certificate.

The wording does not list a policy number or proof of identity, and Momentum's claims page does not either. In practice Momentum will want to match the claim to the policy, so have the policy number and your own identification to hand. That is our suggestion, not a requirement we found in writing.

Getting the death certificate

An official New Zealand death certificate costs $35 and most people receive it within one to two weeks (govt.nz: Get a death certificate). The funeral director registers the death, or the person arranging the funeral does it themselves (govt.nz: Registering a death). If the funeral is soon and you do not yet have the certificate, ask Momentum what it will accept in the meantime. The wording does not say whether a funeral director's confirmation or a printout will do, so ask rather than assume. Our page on death certificates covers ordering.

Accidental death and other deaths

The wording does not set a separate document list for accidents and natural deaths. The difference matters because the benefit depends on the cause in the first 24 months. In that period the benefit is paid only if death is the direct result of an accident and happens within 90 days of it, and then it is three times the benefit; the wording defines an accident as an event causing bodily injury by unintentional, violent, external and visible means. Expect Momentum to ask for medical or other information that shows the cause of death. Where a coroner is involved, the cause may take longer to confirm, and the coroner's process is separate from the insurer's; our guide for when someone dies explains the wider steps.

Who can claim, and who is paid

The wording says the policy owner, a nominated beneficiary or the executor can make the claim. Payment goes to:

the policy owner, if the owner is alive (for example, an adult child who owns a policy on a parent);
otherwise the beneficiary or beneficiaries the owner nominated; and
if none were nominated, the owner or the executor of the owner's estate.

A beneficiary must be a natural person. Momentum cannot pay a benefit directly to a company, charity or other organisation, so a funeral director cannot be named as the payee. That means the family pays the funeral director and the insurer pays the family, not the other way round. Ask the funeral director when payment is due, and see who gets the payout.

What happens in the first 24 months

This is the part to read slowly. Under Momentum's wording:

For the first 24 months from the cover start date, the benefit is paid only if death is the direct result of an accident and occurs within 90 days of it.
If the person dies in that period from any other cause, no benefit is paid. Momentum refunds all premiums paid for that person since the cover start date, to the account linked to the policy.
After 24 months, the benefit is paid for death from any cause.
An increase in cover or an added person starts its own 24-month window from the date of the change.

Please do not read a first-24-months natural death as a claim that will be paid in full. If the cover start date was within the last two years and the death was not an accident, expect a refund of premiums, not a benefit. Our page on funeral insurance waiting periods explains why.

If the claim is declined or reduced

The wording says Momentum may decline a claim, cancel the policy or reduce the benefit if information given to it was incomplete or misleading, and may refuse a claim if the failure was fraudulent. If you disagree with a decision, contact Momentum's complaints team first (0800 108 108, [email protected]). If it is not resolved, you can go to the Insurance & Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme (IFSO): 0800 888 202, [email protected]. IFSO is free, and the wording says its assessment is binding on Momentum Life (policy wording, page 9; contact details on Momentum's complaints page). See also funeral insurance disputes.

While you wait for the payment

The payment may arrive after the funeral bill falls due. A few routes are worth knowing, none of them a promise:

The government says a bank can release money from the deceased's account to pay for the funeral, without waiting for probate (govt.nz: What to do when someone dies).
The Work and Income Funeral Grant is up to $2,697.43, but it is tested against income and assets, and prepaid funeral cover can stop you getting it, so tell Work and Income about any insurance (Work and Income: Funeral Grant). Read the funeral grant guide.
If the death was caused by an injury, ACC may pay a funeral grant of up to $8,236.40 (ACC: Financial support after death).

Funeral insurance pays a fixed benefit of $3,000 to $30,000 (three times that for an accident) towards costs. It may not cover the whole funeral, and across a long policy total premiums can exceed the benefit.

If you are reading this for yourself

Many people look up the claim process before buying, to know what they are signing up to. That is a sensible question. The short version is that the claim is simple but the first 24 months are limited. If you are comparing cover, our funeral insurance FAQs and funeral insurance quotes pages are the next stop. The buttons on this page open Momentum Life's online application, one option among several. Momentum Life Limited has a financial strength rating of B (Fair) from A.M. Best, affirmed 11 February 2026, which Momentum's own table places in the "Vulnerable" range; the rating is not a recommendation (Momentum Life: Financial Strength). 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 personal advice. 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 Momentum Life Funeral Cover.

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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.

Adviser's view

A claim starts with one phone call or email to the insurer. The wording lists a claim form, a death certificate or equivalent certification, and any further information the insurer reasonably needs. Payment is usually made within 24 to 48 hours of approval, but approval itself has no published timeframe, so do not plan the funeral's cash flow around a date.

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

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Cite this page QuoteHub NZ (2026). How to Claim Funeral Insurance NZ: Steps and Documents. www.quotehub.co.nz/funeral-insurance/how-to-claim-funeral-insurance-nz. Updated 2026-10-20.