Can you increase your funeral insurance cover in NZ?
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, Momentum Life's Funeral Insurance wording lets you increase a person's benefit by calling Momentum, up to a maximum of $30,000 per person across all its funeral policies. The increase is subject to the same first 24-month limit as new cover: for that period the extra amount pays only for accidental death within 90 days of the accident. The extra cover is priced at Momentum's rates at the time you increase it, and Momentum issues a new policy schedule.
What the wording says about an increase
Momentum Life's Funeral Insurance Policy Wording (issue date 17 August 2023) says:
- To increase a Life Insured's benefit, or add a Life Insured, you call Momentum Life.
- "Any increase or changes to your Funeral Insurance are subject to the first 24-month Accidental Death only limitation."
- The premium rate for the additional cover is based on Momentum's premium rates at the time, not the rate you pay now.
- Momentum issues a new Policy Schedule, and the increase takes effect from the cover start date shown in it. The cover start date normally equals the acceptance date, "unless you add a Life Insured or increase a Life Insured's Benefit after the Acceptance Date."
- The funeral benefit cannot exceed $30,000. If a person is covered under more than one Momentum funeral policy, $30,000 is the most they can receive in total, any excess is taken off the policy started most recently, and the premiums paid for the excess are refunded. Momentum may change the maximum and says it will not notify you when it does.
The first 24 months work like this: the benefit is paid only if death is the direct result of an accident and happens within 90 days of it, and an accidental death pays three times the benefit. After 24 months the benefit is paid for death from any cause. If the person dies in the first 24 months of anything other than an accident, no benefit is paid and the premiums paid for that person since the cover start date are refunded.
What it means for the extra cover
The simplest reading is that the increase has its own clock. The amount you already had is not touched; the extra amount waits 24 months before it pays for illness. The table below sets out that reading with made-up round numbers, to show the idea. Momentum publishes no worked example, so treat the "not stated" rows as questions to put to the insurer.
Suppose someone starts $10,000 of cover in January 2027 and increases it to $15,000 in January 2030.
| If the person dies | $10,000 original amount | $5,000 increase |
|---|---|---|
| Before January 2029, not an accident | In its first 24 months: no benefit, premiums refunded | Does not exist yet |
| Between January 2029 and January 2030, any cause | Paid, as it is past its first 24 months | Does not exist yet |
| From January 2030 to January 2032 (the increase's first 24 months), not an accident | Past its 24 months, so the wording's after-24-months rule applies | Inside its first 24 months: accident only |
| After January 2032, any cause | Paid | Paid |
| At any time, by accident (death within 90 days) | Triples | Triples, from the increase's start |
| Inside the increase's 24 months, not an accident: what happens to the premiums for the extra amount | Not stated in the wording | Not stated in the wording |
The last row is the one to ask about. The refund rule in the wording refers to premiums paid since the cover start date, and the wording does not say whether that date, after an increase, means the original date or the date of the increase. Ask Momentum to confirm, in writing, how a death inside the increase's window would be handled and which premiums would be refunded.
What the extra cover costs
Momentum publishes no funeral premium, and QuoteHub does not print an exact premium for any insurer. What the wording does tell you is the shape of it. Your original premium stays level until your 89th birthday. The extra cover is priced at Momentum's rates on the day you increase, so it need not cost what the earlier amount did; Momentum publishes no rates, so ask for the figure. The wording ends premium payments at the Life Insured's 89th birthday, so the increase should end then too; confirm that when you ask.
Ask for a quote for the increase alone, and add it to what you pay now. Then work out the total to age 89 the same way you would for any funeral policy. Total premiums can end up larger than the benefit, and the benefit may not cover the whole funeral. Our page on whether funeral insurance is worth it has break-even tables, and do funeral insurance premiums rise covers the premium-change rule (for a change in tax law or claims experience, on 30 days' notice, for everyone on the same offer).
What the wording does not say
We found nothing in the wording or on Momentum's pages that settles these points. Ask before you rely on an increase:
- Whether there is an age limit for increases. The entry age for new cover is 40 to 75; the wording does not say whether that limit applies to an increase.
- Whether an increase is accepted in every case, or whether Momentum can decline one.
- The minimum increase and the steps in which you can raise the benefit.
- Whether the first-24-month refund covers premiums for the increase only or for the whole policy.
- Whether the card payment processing fee, which the wording says applies but gives no figure for, applies to the extra premium.
Increase, or take out a separate policy?
Both routes are possible, and they behave differently.
| Increase with Momentum | A second Momentum policy | A policy with another insurer | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Counts toward the $30,000 cap | Yes | Yes, across all Momentum funeral policies | No, other insurers set their own caps |
| 24-month window | On the increase only | On the new policy | On the new policy, and each insurer sets its own length |
| Premium rate for the new amount | Momentum's rates at the time | Momentum's rates at the time | The other insurer's rates |
| Admin | One policy schedule | Two policies | Two insurers, two claims |
Other insurers publish different terms. AA Life Funeral Cover (50 to 79) and Chubb Life Funeral Cover (50 to 80) each have a 24-month window and refund premiums if the death is not an accident in that time. NZ Seniors and OneChoice, both issued by Pinnacle Life (18 to 79), have a 12-month window and say you cannot get a refund of premiums after the cooling-off period. Compare these carefully on the funeral insurance comparison and see can you have multiple funeral policies. A second policy gives you a fresh window on the whole of the new amount, so it is no way to avoid a wait.
If you need more than $30,000
Funeral insurance is a small, simple product with a cap. If what you want to cover is bigger than a funeral, such as debts or a family's living costs, a different product fits. Fully underwritten life cover through a licensed adviser asks health questions and can offer more cover if you are accepted. Momentum Life's Quick Life is a guaranteed-acceptance life cover for ages 18 to 65, with a cover amount of $50,000 to $300,000 and no health questions. In its first 2 years Quick Life excludes pre-existing conditions and suicide, and its premiums step up each year until 75. See guaranteed acceptance life insurance and the Quick Life plan page.
A checklist before you ask
- Have your policy schedule to hand: the benefit, cover start date and the policy owner.
- Ask Momentum for the new total benefit, the premium for the increase alone and the new total premium.
- Ask for the start date of the increase's 24-month window.
- Ask what is refunded if death is not an accident inside that window.
- Ask whether any age limit applies to the increase.
- Get the answers in writing, and keep them with the policy.
- Check whether a cheaper route, such as savings for the difference, would do the job.
Where to get advice
General information, not personal advice. The buttons on this page open Momentum Life's online application for new cover; an increase to an existing policy is arranged with Momentum by phone. 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. If you have a complaint about a Momentum policy, contact Momentum first (0800 108 108); if it is not resolved, the free Insurance & Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme (IFSO, 0800 888 202) can assess it, and its assessment is binding on Momentum. 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, the Momentum Life Funeral Cover page, or read about the first 24 months and the premium refund and accidental death cover.
Adviser's view
An increase is possible by phone under Momentum's wording, but it is not a free top-up. The extra amount carries its own 24-month window in which only an accident pays, and it is priced at today's rates for your age. The wording does not publish worked examples or an age limit for increases, so ask for the terms in writing before you rely on the extra cover.
Talk to a licensed adviser about funeral cover · free, no obligation.
Cite this page QuoteHub NZ (2026). Increase Funeral Insurance Cover NZ: New 24-Month Wait. www.quotehub.co.nz/funeral-insurance/increase-funeral-insurance-cover-nz. Updated 2026-10-20.
References
- Momentum Life: Funeral Insurance Policy Wording (PDF, issue date 17 August 2023)
- Momentum Life: Quick Life Insurance Policy Wording (PDF, November 2025)
- Momentum Life: Financial Strength
- AA Life: Funeral cover
- Chubb: Funeral cover
- OneChoice: Funeral insurance
- NZ Seniors: Funeral insurance
Explore related pages: Life Insurance, Income Protection, Health Insurance, Trauma Insurance, Calculators.