Pinnacle Life funeral cover and related life benefits

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.

Pinnacle Life no longer sells its own funeral insurance. It withdrew the product in May 2021 and points buyers to OneChoice and NZ Seniors, which it issues. Its current life cover asks health questions and, on policies issued after November 2024, includes a $15,000 Funeral Support early payment.

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Funeral cover See your price Ages 40–75 · $3k–$30k Life cover See your price Ages 18–65 · $50k–$300k

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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.

Pinnacle Life funeral cover can mean three different things. The first is the Pinnacle-branded Funeral Insurance that closed to new buyers in May 2021, which existing policyholders keep on unchanged terms. The second is guaranteed-acceptance funeral insurance issued by Pinnacle Life Limited but sold under the OneChoice and NZ Seniors names, for ages 18 to 79. The third is Pinnacle's Life Cover, an underwritten policy for ages 18 to 75 that pays a lump sum on death and includes a $15,000 early payment to help with funeral or tangi costs. Only the first two are funeral insurance. The third is life cover that can help with funeral costs, and it is not guaranteed acceptance.

Which Pinnacle product did you mean

Product	Can you buy it now	How you are accepted	Source
Pinnacle Funeral Insurance (own brand)	No. Withdrawn from sale in May 2021; existing policies continue	Closed to new buyers, so acceptance rules no longer apply	Pinnacle: Funeral and mortgage insurance
OneChoice and NZ Seniors funeral insurance	Yes, sold by Greenstone Financial Services	Guaranteed acceptance, ages 18 to 79	Policy documents, issue date 23 May 2021
Pinnacle Life Cover with Funeral Support	Yes, direct from Pinnacle	Health and lifestyle questions	Pinnacle: Life insurance

Pinnacle says that if you hold one of its old funeral policies, nothing changes. Its page also repeats the warnings that matter: you could pay more in total premiums than the amount of cover, and if the policy is cancelled nothing is paid back unless you paid annually in advance, in which case the unused part is refunded.

What the Funeral Support benefit does

Pinnacle's product page lists an "Advance Funeral Payment": "We'll pay $15,000 to help with funeral or tangi costs." It sits among the additional benefits, which Pinnacle says are available only on policies issued after November 2024. A second benefit pays $10,000 if an insured person's child aged 18 or under dies.

The detail is in Pinnacle's sample Life Cover policy, where the benefit is called Funeral Support. Read your own policy schedule, but the sample says:

It is a $15,000 early payment, made to your nominated beneficiary when Pinnacle receives written notification of your death. If there is no nominated beneficiary, it goes to a surviving policy owner.
It is not extra cover. The amount paid is deducted from any later payment of the Life Cover.
If the Life Cover claim is not approved, the Funeral Support payment has to be refunded.
It is not payable if you have no nominated beneficiary and are the only policy owner.

So this is an advance on a life policy, for people who are accepted on health questions. It does not stand in for guaranteed-acceptance funeral cover. It is paid on written notification of death, so it can be paid before the life claim is assessed.

Underwritten life cover and guaranteed funeral cover, side by side

Compared: Pinnacle Life Cover, OneChoice and NZ Seniors funeral insurance (one product design), and Momentum Life Funeral Insurance, as at 20 October 2026, from each insurer's own documents. Not every New Zealand insurer is included, and this is a reading of documents, not a score.

	Pinnacle Life Cover	OneChoice and NZ Seniors funeral	Momentum Funeral Insurance
Acceptance	Health and lifestyle questions; most customers need no medical exam	Guaranteed acceptance	Guaranteed acceptance
Entry ages	18 to 75 (apply online at 20 to 69)	18 to 79	40 to 75
Amount	$50,000 to $2 million	$3,000 to $30,000	$3,000 to $30,000
Funeral money	$15,000 early payment, deducted from the life payment	The whole benefit	The whole benefit
Early restriction	Suicide not covered in the first 13 months	Only accidental death pays for 12 months, no premium refund	Only accidental death pays for 24 months, all premiums refunded
Premiums	The sample policy rises yearly for age plus CPI	Level to 85	Level to 89
Rating	A.M. Best B+ (Good)	A.M. Best B+ (Good), Pinnacle	A.M. Best B (Fair)

Momentum Life Limited's financial strength rating is B (Fair) from A.M. Best, affirmed on 11 February 2026. Momentum's own table places B in its "Vulnerable" range (Momentum: financial strength). A.M. Best affirmed Pinnacle's B+ (Good) on 15 April 2026, and Pinnacle's own page shows solvency of 112.6% at 30 June 2026 (Pinnacle: financial strength). A rating is an opinion, not a recommendation. The same rating covers all three Pinnacle-issued products, which is why a B+ appears next to a OneChoice or NZ Seniors policy; see our note on the rating.

When an early payment fits

An early payment suits a family that expects to be accepted for life cover and wants quick access to funds for the first bills. It does not suit someone who is likely to be declined, because it depends on being accepted. A simple check with round numbers: FDANZ's 2026 report puts an average burial funeral for 50 guests at $14,300 (FDANZ). A $15,000 early payment is slightly above that average figure, and the life cover paid later would be $15,000 smaller. Funeral costs vary widely, and this is an illustration, not a forecast.

Ask Pinnacle three things before you apply: is the benefit in this policy, when was the policy issued, and who is the nominated beneficiary. Our Pinnacle Life review and the insurer page cover the rest of the range.

If you want standalone funeral cover instead

Guaranteed-acceptance funeral cover comes from other products. OneChoice and NZ Seniors suit ages 18 to 79 (OneChoice terms and limits, NZ Seniors review). Momentum Life's Funeral Insurance takes ages 40 to 75 for $3,000 to $30,000; for the first 24 months it pays only for accidental death, and any other death in that time refunds all premiums for that person. Momentum does not accept new applicants over 75 or under 40 for funeral cover. On every funeral policy, total premiums can exceed the benefit, and the benefit may not cover the whole funeral. See the Momentum Funeral Cover page and the wider comparison.

Other routes include savings, a prepaid plan and the Work and Income Funeral Grant of up to $2,697.43 (tests apply, and prepaid funeral cover can affect it) (Work and Income). For a complaint about any Pinnacle-issued policy, go to Pinnacle first and then the Insurance & Financial Services Ombudsman (0800 888 202), of which Pinnacle Life is a member.

What we could not verify

The funeral payment terms for policies issued before November 2024. Pinnacle's page says the benefits apply to later policies only, although its sample policy, first issued 7 October 2024, already lists Funeral Support. Ask Pinnacle which applies to you.
The exact wording in your policy. We read the sample, and your schedule governs.
Any Pinnacle premium. It depends on age, smoking status and cover, and we do not publish one.

Where to get advice

The buttons on this page open Momentum Life's online application, one option among those compared above. General information, not advice. 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 underwritten and guaranteed-acceptance options on your 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.