Momentum vs NZ Seniors funeral insurance: 12 months or 24?
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 NZ Seniors Funeral Insurance both accept applicants without health questions and both charge level premiums. Momentum accepts New Zealanders aged 40 to 75, with a 24-month accident-only window that refunds premiums on any other death. NZ Seniors accepts 18 to 79, with a 12-month window and no refund after the cooling-off period.
A correction to a common assumption: NZ Seniors premiums are not stepped. NZ Seniors says its premium is "a level premium designed not to increase each year with your age" (NZ Seniors: Funeral insurance FAQs), and Momentum's wording says each person's rate "will remain the same each year" until their 89th birthday. The differences between the two are the early-death window, what is refunded inside it, the age at which payments stop, terminal illness and who is eligible. Momentum can change rates for everyone on the same offer only for a change in tax or other law, or claims experience significantly different from expected, on 30 days' written notice. For NZ Seniors, read the rate-change clause in the policy document before you apply. For both, total premiums can end up larger than the benefit, and the benefit may not cover a whole funeral.
The two side by side
| Momentum Life Funeral Insurance | NZ Seniors Funeral Insurance | |
|---|---|---|
| Insurer | Momentum Life Limited | Pinnacle Life Limited; sold by Greenstone Financial Services |
| Entry age | 40 to 75 | 18 to 79 |
| Benefit | $3,000 to $30,000 | $3,000 to $30,000 |
| Accident-only window | 24 months | 12 months |
| Other death in that window | No benefit; all premiums for that person refunded | No benefit; "no refund of premiums after the cooling off period" |
| Accidental death | Triple, death within 90 days of the accident | Triple |
| Premiums | Level; rate fixed each year | Level |
| Premiums stop | 89th birthday | Age 85 |
| Terminal illness | No benefit | 100% of the benefit; the policy document sets the terms |
| Extras at 85 | None | 25% Bonus Cover, or an Early Cash Out of 75% of the cover amount, which ends the policy |
| Financial strength | A.M. Best: B (Fair) | A.M. Best: B+ (Good), the rating of Pinnacle Life |
Sources: Momentum Life: Funeral Insurance Policy Wording and NZ Seniors: Compare funeral insurance products (the table on that page was "accurate as at 21 August 2025"). For NZ Seniors alone, see NZ Seniors funeral insurance.
When the windows decide it
The two early-death rules produce opposite results at different times. These are the four cases that matter, on a made-up $10,000 benefit.
| What happens | Momentum | NZ Seniors |
|---|---|---|
| Death from illness in month 6 | No benefit; premiums refunded | No benefit; no refund after the 30-day cooling-off period |
| Accident in month 6, with death within 90 days | $30,000 | $30,000 |
| Death from illness in month 18 | No benefit; premiums refunded | $10,000 |
| Death from illness in month 30 | $10,000 | $10,000 |
The month-18 row is where NZ Seniors pays and Momentum does not. The month-6 row is where Momentum returns the premiums and NZ Seniors does not. A person who is already unwell, and who might die in the first year, loses premiums at NZ Seniors but not at Momentum. A person who might die in the second year gets the benefit at NZ Seniors but only a refund at Momentum. Neither policy asks about health, so neither can tell which of these people it is insuring. The 24 months also restarts for any increase in the benefit or any added person at Momentum. See funeral insurance waiting periods.
How long you pay
Premiums stop four years earlier at NZ Seniors. That is about the number of years you pay, not the price, which neither company publishes.
| Age at the start | Years of premiums to age 85 (NZ Seniors) | Years of premiums to age 89 (Momentum) |
|---|---|---|
| 50 | 35 | 39 |
| 60 | 25 | 29 |
| 70 | 15 | 19 |
(Our arithmetic from the stop ages.) Fewer years of payments do not make a policy cheaper, because the monthly premium at entry is different at each company and depends on your age and amount. The only like-for-like test is a quote from each for your age and benefit. Then multiply the quote by the years above and compare with the benefit; our break-even calculator does the sum. A person who dies before the stop age pays for fewer years than the table shows. A person who lives past it pays nothing further and still has cover for life.
Who can apply
- Under 40. NZ Seniors accepts you. Momentum does not.
- 40 to 75. Both accept you.
- 76 to 79. NZ Seniors accepts you. Momentum does not accept new applicants over 75.
- 80 and over. Neither accepts you; see the funeral insurance options by age.
The companies, and how they are paid
Momentum Life Limited is rated B (Fair) by A.M. Best, affirmed on 11 February 2026, a grade Momentum's own table places in its "Vulnerable" range (Momentum Life: Financial strength). Pinnacle Life, which issues NZ Seniors and OneChoice, is rated B+ (Good) by A.M. Best, affirmed on 15 April 2026 (Pinnacle Life: Financial strength). Because it is one agency, the two letters can be set side by side. A rating is an opinion of an insurer's ability to pay claims, not a recommendation, and it does not describe how claims are handled.
Selling costs are worth reading. NZ Seniors' disclosure statement, prepared 25 March 2024, says Pinnacle pays Greenstone Financial Services up to 62% of each premium, on a level basis throughout the life of the policy (NZ Seniors: Disclosure). 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. Neither company is neutral on which product you pick, and we make no claim that either is the better one.
Questions to put to each
- What is my quote for this age and amount, and what is the premium at 70, 80 and 85 or 89?
- If I die of illness in the first year, what happens to my premiums?
- What exactly is covered as terminal illness, and from when?
- Is it worth giving up the refund for a shorter window, or the shorter window for the refund?
- Would savings, a prepaid plan or the Work and Income Funeral Grant of up to $2,697.43 do the job instead? The grant can be affected by prepaid funeral cover (Work and Income: Funeral Grant). See Is funeral insurance worth it.
Where to get advice
The buttons on this page open Momentum Life's online application, one option and not the only one. A licensed adviser can compare both policies on your own details. 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 Funeral Cover page, or our similar comparison with AA.
Adviser's view
Both policies have level premiums, so neither one suffers the steep age-related rises of stepped cover. The sharper difference is the first year or two: NZ Seniors pays for any cause after 12 months but refunds nothing before that, while Momentum waits 24 months and refunds all premiums if you die of illness in the window. Which suits you depends on your age and how you weigh those two rules.
Talk to a licensed adviser about funeral cover · free, no obligation.
Cite this page QuoteHub NZ (2026). Momentum vs NZ Seniors Funeral Insurance NZ. www.quotehub.co.nz/funeral-insurance/momentum-vs-nz-seniors-funeral-insurance-nz. Updated 2026-10-20.
References
- Momentum Life: Funeral Insurance Policy Wording (PDF, issue date 17 August 2023)
- Momentum Life: Financial strength
- NZ Seniors: Compare funeral insurance products
- NZ Seniors: Funeral insurance FAQs (product)
- NZ Seniors: Disclosure
- Pinnacle Life: Financial strength
- Work and Income: Funeral Grant
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