Can you get $500,000 life cover without a medical exam?

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.

You cannot start a Momentum Life Quick Life policy at $500,000. It starts at a maximum of $300,000 per person, and $500,000 is the cap that 3% yearly increases can reach. For $500,000 on day one, the published route is cover with health questions, where Fidelity Life and Chubb Life both say an application form or personal statement is their minimum evidence up to $500,000.

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"No medical exam" and "no health questions" are not the same promise, and most searches for $500,000 of cover mean the first. A medical exam is a visit to a doctor or nurse, with measurements and sometimes blood tests. Health questions are answers you give on a form or a phone call. Cover with no exam but with health questions is available in New Zealand for amounts up to $500,000, as two insurers' published minimums show. Cover with no health questions at all, which is guaranteed acceptance, is capped far lower. This page sets out the three routes, the arithmetic of Quick Life's increases, what two underwriters publish as their minimum evidence and a price guide in ranges. It is general information, not advice, and your own result depends on your answers.

Three routes, three different promises

Route	Health questions	Medical exam	Amount
Guaranteed acceptance (Momentum Quick Life)	None	None	$50,000 to $300,000 at the start
Underwritten, light evidence (Fidelity, Chubb)	Yes	Not at the published minimum up to $500,000	Higher amounts available
Underwritten, more evidence	Yes	Possible, with blood tests or records	Depends on amount, age and disclosed conditions

Sources: Momentum Quick Life wording, Fidelity and Chubb guides, retrieved 17 and 20 October 2026.

Why Quick Life does not start at $500,000

Quick Life covers $50,000 to $300,000 per person, aged 18 to 65. The wording says the most Momentum will pay for one person is $300,000 plus any automatic increases, up to a total cap of $500,000. The benefit rises by 3% on each policy anniversary until age 75 or the cap, whichever comes first, and you can opt out of an increase in any year. The premium rises with the benefit.

Our arithmetic, not a Momentum figure: if you start at $300,000 and take every increase, 17 increases of 3% bring the benefit to about $495,900 and the 18th passes $500,000 and is capped there. Because increases stop at 75, that needs a start at about age 57 or younger. Anyone who starts lower, or opts out of some years, takes longer or never gets there. The cap is per life insured, across all of a person's Momentum policies, and Momentum says it will not notify you if the limit changes.

Quick Life carries a 2-year rule. For the first 2 years it does not pay a benefit for death or terminal illness related to a pre-existing condition, or for suicide or intentional self-harm. Premiums are refunded if death is from a pre-existing condition in the first 24 months with no claim payable. Automatic increases do not restart the 2 years. See Quick Life and guaranteed cover amounts.

What underwritten insurers publish for $500,000

Two insurers publish their minimum evidence requirements for life cover:

Fidelity Life needs only an application form up to $500,000 at every age band. From $500,001, at ages 61 and over, it needs a "Code A" set of evidence: a GP medical or paramedical examination, HbA1c, lipids and liver tests.
Chubb Life needs only a personal statement up to $500,000 at every age band, and Code A from $500,001 at ages 61 and over.

Both guides say these are minimums, and a disclosed condition triggers more. Build matters: Fidelity may want more information at a BMI of 19 or under and asks for Code A at 37 or above; Chubb requires a build exam plus HbA1c, lipid and liver tests at 37 or above. Partners Life announced in October 2024 that it would not require a build exam or blood tests up to a BMI of 37.99 for applicants 30 or under, and for others on life and medical covers if they have no listed cardiovascular risk factors (RiskinfoNZ).

So a healthy applicant asking for exactly $500,000 will often not be sent for an exam, but will be asked health questions, may be asked for records, and can still be loaded, excluded, postponed or declined. Answer fully. IFSO case notes show insurers avoiding policies and reducing claims for non-disclosure (IFSO). Fidelity's tele-underwriting calls are recorded and form part of the application. Our guide to exams and blood tests covers what can be asked.

What $500,000 costs: ranges, not quotes

These are indicative monthly costs from insurers' published rate cards as at 8 September 2026, stepped premiums, non-smoker, occupation class 1, standard rates with no loadings or exclusions. Each cell is a range across the insurers in QuoteHub's panel that priced the row, rounded outward. Momentum priced only $250,000, so it is not in these $500,000 rows. Your own premium depends on underwriting. See each insurer's own page, for example Fidelity, and our method.

Age	Man, $500,000	Woman, $500,000
30	$30 to $40	$20 to $30
40	$40 to $50	$35 to $40
50	$90 to $120	$80 to $100
60	$300 to $375	$225 to $275
65	$625 to $725	$400 to $475

Smoker rates run higher: at age 40, $90 to $110 for a man and $60 to $80 for a woman. Stepped premiums rise each year with age. See the full life insurance premium ranges.

What about $1 million or $2 million?

The same panel prices $1,000,000 at ages 25 to 65. At 40, the non-smoker range is $70 to $80 for a man and $50 to $70 for a woman; at 60 it is $550 to $650 and $400 to $475. Above $500,000 the evidence rises: at 61 and over, Fidelity and Chubb both publish a Code A requirement from $500,001. We found no source for exam rules at $1 million or $2 million for younger ages, so ask an adviser. We cover this in $1 million with no medical exam.

If you cannot get underwritten cover

Guaranteed acceptance is the fallback when an insurer declines you or offers terms you cannot accept. It tops out lower than $500,000 on day one, carries the 2-year rule, and a healthy person can usually get more cover for less with underwritten cover. Total premiums over a long time can exceed what you expect, so check what the amount does for your family. See guaranteed acceptance versus full medical underwriting and the wider no medical exam guide.

Where to get advice

The buttons on this page lead to Momentum's online quote for Quick Life, which is not a $500,000 route. 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. Momentum Life's A.M. Best financial strength rating is B (Fair), affirmed on 11 February 2026; it sits in the range Momentum's own table calls "vulnerable" (Momentum). For $500,000 or more, a licensed adviser can compare 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). Back to the guaranteed acceptance hub.