Kiwibank funeral insurance: availability and alternatives
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.
Kiwibank does not sell a standalone funeral insurance policy that we could find. Its Life and Living insurance is provided by nib nz limited, and every policy includes a $15,000 Funeral Expenses payment on death or terminal illness. That payment is a feature of underwritten cover, not guaranteed acceptance, and it ends when your other nib cover ends.
Who provides it
Kiwibank's insurance page says the cover is provided by nib nz limited, which is "the only organisation responsible for claims under the cover". It also says nib "pays fees to Kiwibank Limited for Kiwibank's referral of customers" (Kiwibank: Life and Living Insurance). So Kiwibank is the referrer and nib is the insurer. nib nz limited is rated A (Strong) by S&P Global Ratings, as nib publishes it (nib: Financial advice and strength). The Commerce Commission noted in 2024 that ANZ, BNZ, Westpac and Kiwibank have sold their insurance businesses over the past five years (Commerce Commission, personal banking market study, 20 August 2024). Bank-branded cover is now often arranged or referred through another company. Our bank versus broker guide explains the model, and our Kiwibank life insurance guide covers the whole product.
What the $15,000 payment is, in short
Kiwibank's page lists the Funeral Expenses cover as "complimentary with the cover you choose": a lump sum of $15,000 "to help with funeral expenses" if the person insured dies, or is diagnosed as terminally ill and expected to die within the next 12 months. nib's wording (nib: Life & Living Insurance Cover wording) adds that it is paid only while another type of nib cover is in place, and that it stays at $15,000 rather than rising with indexation. The clause-by-clause reading, including what paying it does to the rest of the policy, is on our nib funeral cover page. This page stays with the bank side of the arrangement.
Who does what
| Role | Kiwibank | nib nz limited |
|---|---|---|
| Sells or refers | Refers customers to nib and is paid fees by nib for doing so | Sells the cover and gives financial advice on its own behalf |
| Issues and underwrites | No | Yes, "the only organisation responsible for claims under the cover" |
| Where claims go | Not to Kiwibank; Kiwibank's page sends you to the nib claims team | To nib |
| What a Kiwibank customer gets | A route to nib, not a Kiwibank-branded policy | The policy, its wording and its terms |
The practical point is that the arrangement does not make Kiwibank the insurer. If something goes wrong with a claim, the party that decides it is nib, and any complaint about the policy goes through nib's process and then to the Insurance & Financial Services Ombudsman (IFSO).
Is it guaranteed acceptance?
No. Kiwibank's page does not describe health questions and sends you to nib to apply or to talk to a specialist, but the wording shows underwritten cover: nib can add special terms to the policy schedule, and cancel or avoid a policy if the information it was given was incorrect or incomplete. To add or increase Life cover, the person insured must be 18 to 70. To get the funeral payment at all you have to buy Life or Living cover, so what you pay for is that cover, not a funeral product.
The wording sets no "first 24 months" rule on the funeral payment. The early restriction it states is a 13-month exclusion for intentional self-inflicted harm. That is a different design from guaranteed-acceptance funeral insurance, which asks about nothing medical and makes up for it with a waiting period.
Side by side with a funeral policy
| Kiwibank-referred nib cover | Momentum Life Funeral Insurance | |
|---|---|---|
| Health questions | Yes; terms may be added, or cover declined | None |
| Amount | $15,000 payment, unchanged over time | $3,000 to $30,000, your choice |
| Standalone | No, a Life or Living cover is needed | Yes |
| Early-years rule | 13-month self-harm exclusion | First 24 months: accidental death only; any other death refunds that person's premiums |
| Rating | S&P A (Strong), as nib publishes it | A.M. Best B (Fair) |
Different agencies set those two ratings, so the letters cannot be read against each other. Momentum's B sits in the "Vulnerable" range on Momentum's own table (Momentum: Financial strength). Its Funeral Insurance takes New Zealanders aged 40 to 75, and total premiums can end up above the benefit, which itself may fall short of a full funeral. The plan is described on the Momentum Life Funeral Cover page.
Does it make sense through a bank referral?
nib does not publish a premium for the cover, and QuoteHub does not publish an exact premium for any insurer, so the test is the price of the cover you would buy anyway. Someone who already wants life or trauma cover gets the $15,000 as part of the package. Someone who wants only funeral money would be paying for a larger underwritten policy to reach it, and nib says premiums "will usually increase each year" as the person insured gets older. Add up what you expect to pay and set it against what the policy pays. Our guide to how funeral insurance works explains that test, and our page on comparing funeral insurance prices shows why a price comparison needs quotes.
Other ways to fund a funeral
Savings and a prepaid plan are the other main routes. The Work and Income Funeral Grant has a maximum of $2,697.43, is income and asset tested, and can be affected by prepaid funeral cover (Work and Income: Funeral Grant). For scale, FDANZ's 2026 survey averaged $11,700 for a cremation funeral and $14,300 for a burial, each with 50 attendees (FDANZ, 2026 Industry Trends Report). Costs vary by region and by the choices a family makes.
Claims go to nib
Kiwibank's page says to contact the nib claims team through nib.co.nz, so claims do not go to Kiwibank. The claims phone number, the six-month notice rule and the complaints route are set out on our nib funeral cover page.
Where to get advice
The buttons on this page open Momentum Life's online application, which is one option, not the only one. nib's advisers advise only on nib products, so a licensed adviser can compare nib with guaranteed-acceptance and other cover on your details. 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). Over 75, Momentum does not accept new applicants. See also nib funeral cover and the funeral insurance hub.
Adviser's view
Kiwibank does not sell a funeral insurance policy. It refers customers to nib, whose underwritten Life and Living cover includes a $15,000 funeral payment, but only while you hold other nib cover and only if nib accepts you. If you want a fixed small amount without health questions, that is a separate product with its own waiting period.
Talk to a licensed adviser about funeral cover · free, no obligation.
Cite this page QuoteHub NZ (2026). Kiwibank Funeral Insurance NZ: Cover Checks. www.quotehub.co.nz/funeral-insurance/kiwibank-funeral-insurance-nz. Updated 2026-10-20.
References
- Kiwibank: Life and Living Insurance
- nib: Life & Living Insurance Cover wording (PDF)
- nib: Financial advice and strength
- Commerce Commission: Market study into personal banking services
- Momentum Life: Funeral Insurance Policy Wording (PDF, issue date 17 August 2023)
- Momentum Life: Financial strength
- Work and Income: Funeral Grant
- FDANZ: 2026 New Zealand Funeral Industry Trends Report (PDF)
Explore related pages: Life Insurance, Income Protection, Health Insurance, Trauma Insurance, Technology.