Momentum vs AA funeral insurance: how they differ

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.

Momentum Life's Funeral Insurance and AA Life Funeral Cover both accept applicants without health questions. Momentum takes New Zealanders aged 40 to 75, with premiums fixed until the 89th birthday. AA takes people aged 50 to 79, with premiums payable until the anniversary after the 90th birthday. Both pay only for accidental death in the first 24 months.

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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.

The detail below is from Momentum's policy wording and AA's own page, read between 17 and 20 October 2026. Both policies are a fixed benefit paid when the person dies, and both make up for asking no health questions with an early-death rule. In the first 24 months an accident pays and anything else does not. Momentum pays three times the benefit for an accident within 90 days, and AA pays double. For any other death in the window, both refund the premiums for that person instead of paying a benefit. After 24 months, death from any cause is covered. The differences that decide a purchase are the entry ages, the accident multiple, whether terminal illness is covered, when premiums stop, and whether you can see a price before you apply.

The two side by side

	Momentum Life Funeral Insurance	AA Life Funeral Cover
Insurer	Momentum Life Limited	Asteron Life Limited; AA distributes it
Entry age	40 to 75	50 to 79
Benefit	$3,000 to $30,000	$5,000 to $30,000
Accident in the first 24 months	Three times the benefit, death within 90 days of the accident	Double the cover amount, death within 90 days of the accident
Other death in the first 24 months	No benefit; all premiums for that person refunded	No benefit; all premiums paid refunded
Terminal illness	No benefit	Covered after 24 months, as defined in the policy
Premiums stop	89th birthday	Policy anniversary after the 90th birthday
Discounts	$150 a year off for each additional person on a family policy	5% for an AA Member; 20% if two people apply within 48 hours of each other
Published price	None	From $14.28 a week for $10,000, one stated profile (a 66-year-old female AA Member, non-smoker), per AA Life, retrieved 20 October 2026
Financial strength	A.M. Best: B (Fair)	Fitch Australia: A+ (Strong), as AA prints it

Sources: Momentum Life: Funeral Insurance Policy Wording and AA Life: Funeral cover. For AA alone, see AA funeral insurance.

Who each one accepts

Entry age settles more cases than any other row.

Aged 40 to 49. Momentum accepts you. AA does not.
Aged 50 to 75. Both accept you. This is where the other rows matter.
Aged 76 to 79. AA accepts new applicants. Momentum does not accept new applicants over 75. NZ Seniors and OneChoice also publish an entry age of 79.
Aged 80 and over. Neither accepts you. Chubb publishes an entry age of 80; see our comparison of the options.

Momentum's cover is also limited to "New Zealanders" as its wording defines them: living in New Zealand at application and an NZ or Australian citizen, a permanent resident visa holder, or continuously in New Zealand for at least 12 months on a valid temporary work visa. AA's page says the covered person must be in New Zealand when applying.

Three deaths, two policies

This table uses a made-up $10,000 benefit to show how each rule plays out. It is not a quote.

What happens	Momentum	AA
Death from illness in month 6	No benefit; premiums refunded	No benefit; premiums refunded
Accident, with death within 90 days, in month 6	$30,000	$20,000
Death from illness in month 30	$10,000	$10,000
Terminal illness diagnosed in month 30	No terminal illness benefit	Can be claimed, as defined in the policy

The first and third rows are alike. The second and fourth are where the products part. A person at higher risk of accident, or who values a payment while still alive, will weigh those rows differently from someone who does not. Neither policy asks about health, so neither tailors the price to a medical history.

Premiums: what the sources do and do not say

Momentum's wording says the premium rate for each person is the same each year until their 89th birthday, then payments end and cover continues for life. The rate can change only for a change in tax or other law, or for claims experience significantly different from expected, applied to every policy under the same offer, with at least 30 days' written notice. Card payments carry a processing fee.

AA's page says cost varies with cover amount and age, and that premiums are payable until the policy anniversary after the 90th birthday. It does not say whether the premium rises with age. Asteron's funeral policy wording, dated 15 November 2024, describes a one-year renewable term in which any rise applies to all policies on the same offer (retrieved 17 October 2026). Ask AA what the premium will be at 70, 80 and 90 before you decide.

Price is the one row where AA shows more. It prints a single example. QuoteHub does not publish an exact Momentum premium, and there is no like-for-like price to put beside AA's: the example is for a 66-year-old at $10,000 as an AA Member. The only like-for-like test is two quotes for the same age and amount. For both policies, total premiums can add up to more than the benefit if you keep paying for many years, and the benefit may not cover the whole funeral. Our cost guide shows how to test the sums.

The companies behind the policies

Momentum Life Limited issues its own product. A.M. Best rates it B (Fair), affirmed on 11 February 2026, and Momentum's own table places B in its "Vulnerable" range (Momentum Life: Financial strength). Its solvency ratio was 107% at 30 June 2026.

AA Life Funeral Cover is provided and underwritten by Asteron Life Limited, which AA's page says holds an A+ (Strong) financial strength rating from Fitch Australia. A.M. Best and Fitch use different scales, and we found no source that converts one to the other, so the two letters cannot be set against each other. A rating is an opinion of an insurer's ability to pay claims, not a recommendation. Asteron's own site says Asteron Life and Resolution Life New Zealand will become Acenda Life, phased from 2027 and subject to regulatory approval; it does not mention AA Life, so we make no prediction about it (Asteron: Acenda Life).

How to decide

Check your age first. The entry bands overlap only at 50 to 75.
Ask each for a quote at the same age and amount. Compare monthly cost and the age premiums stop.
Decide whether terminal illness matters. Only AA lists it.
Decide how much the accident multiple matters. Triple against double.
Compare the refund. Both refund premiums if you die of illness in the first 24 months. Momentum refunds in full on cancellation only inside its 30-day free-look period, which runs from the Acceptance Date; ask AA what it refunds after its own 30 days.
Check the alternatives. Savings, a prepaid plan and the Work and Income Funeral Grant of up to $2,697.43 are other routes, and the grant can be affected by prepaid funeral cover (Work and Income: Funeral Grant). Our page on what funeral insurance is sets out the product, and waiting periods covers the 24 months in detail.

Where to get advice

The buttons on this page open Momentum Life's online application, which is one option and not the only one; AA's page has its own quote. 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 both on your own details. Advice is provided by Craig Smith Business Services Limited, trading as Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver, a licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931). See the Momentum Funeral Cover page or go back to the funeral insurance hub. For a second comparison of the same kind, read Momentum versus NZ Seniors.