Buying no-health-question life cover for a parent

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.

An adult child can own Momentum Life's Funeral Insurance on a parent aged 40 to 75, because the wording counts a parent as a "Relative". Momentum's Quick Life, for ages 18 to 65, is different: its wording says the person covered is usually the owner, and a child owning a parent's policy is not listed. Neither product asks health questions, and both limit what is paid in the first two years.

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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.

Two products, two ownership rules

Your parent's age decides which product is open at all. Ownership then depends on the product. This page covers the choice between them; our funeral insurance for parents page goes deeper on the Funeral product alone.

	Funeral Insurance	Quick Life
Parent's age at entry	40 to 75	18 to 65
Amount	$3,000 to $30,000	$50,000 to $300,000
Who can apply, per the wording	You, or a Partner or Relative	You, or you and your partner (joint cover)
Can an adult child own it on a parent?	Yes: a parent of the owner or the owner's partner is a "Relative"	Not listed. The wording says the insured is usually the owner
Insured person's consent	The wording does not say	Required where a family member owns a policy that covers someone else
First two years	Accidental death only; other deaths pay nothing and all premiums for that person are refunded	Accidental death and new conditions covered; pre-existing conditions and suicide excluded
Premiums	Level to the 89th birthday, then none	Stepped each year to 75, then fixed

Sources: Funeral Insurance Policy Wording and Quick Life Policy Wording, November 2025.

Which parents can be covered

Under 40: Funeral Insurance is closed; Quick Life is open.
40 to 65: both are open.
66 to 75: only Funeral Insurance. Quick Life's wording voids a policy if the person's true age at the start was over 65, and refunds the premiums. If your parent is close to 65, ask Momentum how it counts age before you apply.
Over 75: neither product accepts a new applicant. See life insurance over 75.

Residency matters too. For Quick Life, a "New Zealander" lives in New Zealand and is an NZ or Australian citizen, a permanent resident visa holder, or on a temporary work visa with at least 6 months in New Zealand. Funeral Insurance asks for 12 continuous months on a work visa. A parent who lives overseas does not fit either description. Our eligibility checker tests the age limits.

Does your parent have to agree?

For Quick Life, yes where someone else owns the policy: the wording says the consent of each person insured is needed before a family-owned policy can be set up. For Funeral Insurance, the wording does not say, so we cannot tell you it is or is not required. Treat it as required in practice. The policy is about your parent's death, and you will be paying for it for years.

There is one more wrinkle in the Quick Life wording. It defines family owners as "limited to parents or siblings" of the person insured, yet elsewhere says ownership can be transferred to anyone aged 16 or over. We cannot tell from the text whether an adult child could end up holding a parent's Quick Life policy. Do not assume it, and ask Momentum in writing before relying on it. The wording also does not say whether a child can pay a parent-owned policy's premiums, so check that too.

What the law says about insurable interest

We found no source we can cite for how "insurable interest" works today for life policies on a parent. From 15 November 2027 (not yet in force), the Contracts of Insurance Act 2024 says a life policy is not void only because the policyholder had no interest in the life insured (Act, ss 75 and 76). Until then, rely on each product's own ownership rules, set out above.

The early period, for a parent with health problems

Neither product asks about your parent's health, which is why they suit people who would be declined elsewhere. That does not make them pay out straight away.

Funeral Insurance: in the first 24 months only accidental death, within 90 days of the accident, is paid. Any other death pays no benefit and all premiums for that person are refunded. There is no pre-existing condition clause.
Quick Life: for the first 2 years a pre-existing condition is not covered, and neither is suicide. Pre-existing includes any illness, condition or symptoms in the 2 years before the start, even if undiagnosed, and names a BMI over 40, cholesterol over 7.0, very high blood pressure and diabetes complications. If a parent dies of one in the first 24 months and no claim is payable, premiums are refunded. A few conditions can be excluded permanently in the policy schedule. Momentum's site adds that Quick Life is not available to someone diagnosed with a terminal illness or in palliative or hospice care.

Read the two-year exclusion page before you buy for a parent with a recent diagnosis. If your parent has dementia, see our page on funeral cover for a parent with dementia.

Who pays, and for how long

An owner of Funeral Insurance pays until the insured parent's 89th birthday, which is about 14 to 49 years of premiums depending on the parent's age at entry (a parent joining at 75 pays for about 14 years; one joining at 40, about 49). Total premiums can exceed the benefit, and the benefit may not cover the whole cost of a funeral. This is not a savings or investment plan; depending on how long you keep your cover, the total premiums you pay could exceed the benefit paid. Quick Life's premiums rise each year until 75 and are fixed from then, and the 3% yearly benefit increases push the premium up too. Test your own figures in the break-even calculator.

If your parent could cope without cover, the alternatives are money set aside in an account, a prepaid plan, or the Work and Income Funeral Grant of up to $2,697.43, which has tests and can be affected by prepaid funeral cover (Work and Income: Funeral Grant). See the funeral grant guide.

Questions to ask your parent first

Are they happy for a policy to be taken out, and for whom to be paid?
What is their date of birth, and are they a citizen or resident?
Do they already hold Momentum cover? The Funeral limit is $30,000 per person across all its funeral policies.
Who will pay, from which account, and what happens if that person cannot?
Have they been diagnosed with anything in the last 2 years?
Would they be willing to answer health questions? Cover that asks them can cost less if they are accepted on standard terms.

Where to get advice

The buttons on this page open Momentum Life's online application. Momentum Life Limited has an A.M. Best financial strength rating of B (Fair), affirmed on 11 February 2026, which Momentum's own table groups in its "Vulnerable" range; see its financial strength page. A rating is 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. Advice is provided by Craig Smith Business Services Limited, trading as Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver, a licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931). See the Quick Life and Funeral Cover pages, or return to the guaranteed acceptance hub.