No-medical life insurance options over 55

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.

Over 55 you can still take out both Momentum Life products with no health questions: Quick Life, $50,000 to $300,000, until age 65, and Funeral Insurance, $3,000 to $30,000, until 75. The harder question is affordability. Quick Life premiums are stepped, so they rise every year until 75. A healthy 55-year-old can often get more cover for less by completing underwriting through a licensed adviser.

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See your price in about a minute, then apply online with Momentum Life. Guaranteed acceptance, no health questions, no medical exams.

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

Want more than $300k or have questions? Talk to an adviser

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.

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.

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.

A timeline from 55 to 89

Age changes what is open and what the premium does. This table is built from the two policy wordings.

Age	What happens
55 to 65	Quick Life and Funeral Insurance are both open for new applicants
65	The last age in the Quick Life entry band (18 to 65). A true age over 65 at the start voids the policy and refunds the premiums
66 to 75	Funeral Insurance only for new applicants
75	Funeral Insurance entry ends. For existing Quick Life: premiums become fixed, the yearly 3% increases stop, and $20,000 of the benefit becomes free
89	Funeral Insurance premiums end and the cover continues for life

Sources: Quick Life Policy Wording, November 2025 and Funeral Insurance Policy Wording. The wording does not say how a person between 65 and 66 is counted, so if you are close to the line ask Momentum before you apply.

How stepped premiums feel in your late fifties and sixties

Quick Life premiums are re-set each policy anniversary for age, gender and smoking status, and "generally increase each year". QuoteHub shows no exact Momentum figure. QuoteHub's Premium Index shows the market's direction: indicative monthly costs from insurers' published rate cards as at 8 September 2026, for a non-smoker, stepped, occupation class 1, standard rates, rounded outward, ranges across the insurers that priced $500,000. Quick Life tops out at $300,000 to start, so this is not a like-for-like comparison. Your own premium depends on underwriting.

Age	Man, $500,000	Woman, $500,000
60	$300 to $375	$225 to $275
65	$625 to $725	$400 to $475

Five years add roughly 75% to 100% to the monthly cost in this panel (a man's range roughly doubles, a woman's rises by about three-quarters). That is the pattern to plan around. See the stepped premium projection tool and our stepped versus level guide. Quick Life's yearly 3% benefit increase pushes the premium up further, because the premium rises with the cover. You can opt out of any year's increase and stay eligible for later ones.

The affordability test

Before you buy, run three checks.

Price the premium you would pay at 65, not the one you pay at 56. If the 65-year-old figure is out of reach, take a smaller amount.
Know what lapsing costs. Momentum can cancel after a month of unpaid premiums, and paying afterwards does not automatically reinstate Quick Life. A reinstated or re-bought policy restarts the 2-year early period, and cancelling gives no refund of premiums already paid.
Compare with a level premium. Funeral Insurance is level until the 89th birthday. Level premiums are not free of risk: the rate can change for everyone on the plan for tax or claims experience on 30 days' notice, and total premiums can exceed the benefit.

An insurance ombudsman case shows the risk of any long-dated premium: a policy "level to age 80" converted to a stepped rate at 80, and the monthly premium went from $49 to $190; the complaint was not upheld (IFSO).

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, and a Funeral Insurance benefit may not cover the whole cost of a funeral. Our break-even calculator shows the sums.

Full underwriting for a healthy 55-year-old

A healthy person can usually get more cover for less with fully underwritten cover through an adviser, and being 55 does not change that. There are two age points worth knowing. Chubb's brochure gives a maximum entry age of 55 for its "level to 65" premium review and 60 for "level to 70", so a level option for the coming decade starts to close around now (Chubb). And Chubb and Fidelity need only an application form for life cover up to $500,000 at every age band, with more evidence from $500,001 at 61 and over, or when you disclose conditions (Chubb guide, Fidelity guide). The right route for you is a comparison, which guaranteed acceptance versus full medical sets out.

Underwriting can still go the other way. Insurers decide, terms depend on the individual, and a policy bought on incomplete answers may not pay: published ombudsman cases show insurers avoiding or reducing claims for non-disclosure (IFSO). If you have a recent diagnosis, Quick Life will not cover that condition in the first 2 years, and the rule is the same at 55 as at 35. Pre-existing means anything in the 2 years before the start, including undiagnosed symptoms; it names a BMI over 40, cholesterol over 7.0, very high blood pressure and diabetes complications. If a death from one occurs in the first 24 months and no claim is payable, premiums are refunded. A few conditions can be excluded permanently in the policy schedule. Funeral Insurance pays only for accidental death in its first 24 months, and refunds all premiums for any other cause.

After you turn 66

Quick Life is closed to new applicants. Funeral Insurance stays open until 75. If you already hold Quick Life, it continues. See guaranteed acceptance over 65, and the wider life insurance over 55 article.

When to talk to a licensed adviser

Ask one if you want more than $300,000, if you are thinking of cancelling cover you hold now (keep it running until new cover is in force, as the FMA advises: FMA), or if you want an insurer-by-insurer comparison.

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 the guaranteed acceptance hub.