How much funeral insurance can you buy?
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.
The most funeral insurance you can choose from Momentum Life is a $30,000 benefit. If death is an accident, within 90 days of it, the policy pays three times the benefit: $90,000 on a $30,000 policy. That triple payout is not the standard death benefit. Momentum's funeral insurance stops at $30,000; larger amounts mean life cover.
Momentum's Funeral Insurance wording sets the benefit at $3,000 to $30,000 and says the Funeral Insurance Benefit "cannot exceed $30,000". If a person is covered under more than one funeral policy where Momentum is the insurer, the most that person can receive under all of them is $30,000, and any reduction is applied to the policy or policies most recently started, with the excess premiums refunded (Momentum Life: Funeral Insurance Policy Wording). The cap is per person, not per policy and not per household. The wording also says the maximum may change from time to time and that Momentum "will not notify" you when it does. Any change would matter only if you later chose to increase your cover.
What "maximum funeral cover" can mean
Three different numbers get called the maximum, and mixing them up is the commonest mistake.
| Number | What it is | Momentum Funeral Insurance |
|---|---|---|
| Highest selected benefit | The most you can choose when you apply | $30,000 |
| Accidental death payout | A multiple of the benefit you chose, if death is an accident within 90 days | Three times: $9,000 to $90,000 |
| Cap per person | The most one person can have across all of an insurer's funeral policies | $30,000 |
The wording's own example is a $30,000 benefit: "if you die as the result of an Accident, $90,000 will be payable." On a non-accidental death after the first 24 months the same policy pays $30,000. So the $90,000 figure applies only to a particular kind of death, and you do not choose it. Someone who wants $90,000 for any cause cannot buy it as funeral insurance.
A worked example
These figures use a made-up $20,000 benefit to show how the rules interact. They are not a quote.
| What happens | Payout on a $20,000 benefit |
|---|---|
| Death from illness in month 10 | No benefit. All premiums paid for that person are refunded |
| Death in an accident in month 10, within 90 days of it | $60,000 (three times) |
| Death from illness in month 30 | $20,000 |
| Death in an accident in month 30, within 90 days of it | $60,000 |
| Someone holds two Momentum funeral policies of $20,000 each | The cap is $30,000 in total, so the newer policy is cut and the excess premiums refunded |
The first 24 months matter. In that window only an accidental death pays at all, and any other death returns the premiums and nothing else. Increasing a benefit later starts a new 24-month window for the increase. Our page on funeral insurance waiting periods goes through the timing.
How other insurers compare
Each insurer sets its own ceiling. These come from their own pages, read on 20 October 2026, and change.
| Product | Entry age | Published benefit |
|---|---|---|
| Momentum Life Funeral Insurance | 40 to 75 | $3,000 to $30,000 |
| NZ Seniors and OneChoice (Pinnacle Life) | 18 to 79 | $3,000 to $30,000 |
| AA Life Funeral Cover (Asteron Life) | 50 to 79 | $5,000 to $30,000 |
| Chubb Life Funeral Cover | 50 to 80 | Up to $30,000 |
| Greenwich Life, The Funeral Plan | 30 to 70 | $5,000 to $20,000 on its web page |
| Unity | 18 to 75 | $5,000, $7,500, $10,000 or $15,000 by cover type |
AA's page offers up to $30,000 (AA Life: Funeral cover), and Chubb's page says $30,000 is the maximum across all its funeral policies (Chubb: Funeral cover). The picture is consistent: among the policies above, a guaranteed-acceptance funeral policy stops at $30,000 or less. The full comparison is on how the options compare.
Do you need the maximum?
Start from the cost, not the cap. The Funeral Directors Association of New Zealand's 2026 report puts a full funeral for 50 guests at an average of $11,700 for a cremation and $14,300 for a burial, and an unattended cremation at $4,700 (FDANZ, 2026 New Zealand Funeral Industry Trends Report). A $30,000 benefit is more than twice those averages. A larger benefit means larger premiums, and Momentum's wording says total premiums could exceed the benefit depending on how long you keep the policy. It also says the benefit you choose may not cover the cost of a funeral. Our funeral cover amount calculator and funeral cost guide help you pick a number.
What if you need more than $30,000?
Funeral and estate needs above $30,000 are a life cover question. Momentum Life's Quick Life is guaranteed acceptance life cover for ages 18 to 65, from $50,000 to $300,000 per life insured, with 3% indexation each policy anniversary until age 75 or $500,000 per person. Note the starting maximum of $300,000 is not the cap. It asks no health questions, but pre-existing conditions and suicide are excluded in the first two years, its premiums rise each year to 75, and some deaths are always excluded, such as those caused by alcohol or drug effects, war, terrorism or listed dangerous activities (Momentum Life: Quick Life Insurance Policy Wording). It does not accept anyone over 65, so a 70-year-old looking for more than $30,000 cannot use it.
A healthy applicant can often get fuller cover through underwriting, which asks health questions, and a licensed adviser can explain what is open to you. See $100,000 funeral cover for how the two kinds of cover differ, and the Quick Life page for the plan itself.
Where to get advice
The buttons on this page open Momentum Life's online application. Momentum's A.M. Best rating is B (Fair), which Momentum's own table places in its "Vulnerable" range; see its financial strength page. A rating is an opinion of an insurer's ability to pay claims, not a recommendation. 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 amounts and insurers on your own details. Advice is provided by Craig Smith Business Services Limited, trading as Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver, a licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931). For prices see the cost guide, and for the plan see Momentum Funeral Cover. Back to the funeral insurance hub.
Adviser's view
The most you can choose with Momentum's Funeral Insurance is $30,000, and $30,000 is also the highest published benefit at NZ Seniors, OneChoice, AA and Chubb. The $90,000 accidental-death figure is a multiple on your chosen benefit, not a bigger policy. If you want more than $30,000, you are looking at life cover, which has different rules.
Talk to a licensed adviser about funeral cover · free, no obligation.
Cite this page QuoteHub NZ (2026). Maximum Funeral Cover NZ: Benefit Limits Explained. www.quotehub.co.nz/funeral-insurance/maximum-funeral-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
- FDANZ: 2026 New Zealand Funeral Industry Trends Report (PDF)
Explore related pages: Life Insurance, Income Protection, Health Insurance, Trauma Insurance, For Brokers.