Guaranteed acceptance life cover for adults under 50

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.

Yes. Under 50, Momentum Life's Quick Life is open without health questions or a medical exam, to ages 18 to 65, for $50,000 to $300,000 (subject to its age and residency rules). It is rarely the lowest-priced or broadest choice for a healthy adult, though. Cover with health questions, arranged by a licensed adviser, usually gives a larger sum for a lower premium.

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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.

Guaranteed acceptance life cover is life insurance issued without health questions or a medical exam. Under 50 it is a deliberate trade, not a default. You give up a lower price and, in the first two years, cover for any condition you already have. Quick Life excludes pre-existing conditions and suicide for the first 2 years, refunds the premiums if a pre-existing condition causes death in that time, and excludes some events permanently. In return you get a policy in place without disclosure, which matters most if you would struggle to get cover with health questions. Momentum's Funeral Insurance, the other no-health-question product, opens only at 40 and is a small funeral benefit rather than family protection. If you are under 40, it is not open to you.

How Quick Life works for ages 18 to 49

Amount. $50,000 to $300,000 per person. The benefit rises 3% a year until 75 or a $500,000 cap per person; you can skip an increase in any year.
No health questions. Premiums are based on age, gender, smoking status and benefit amount. Momentum's website says Quick Life is not available to applicants diagnosed with a terminal illness or in palliative or hospice care.
Premiums. Stepped: recalculated every anniversary, and generally rising with age. Momentum can also change premiums for everyone on a plan for tax or claims reasons, on 30 days' notice.
Joint cover. You can apply with a partner for a $50 a year discount. Cover is per person, so when one person is paid the other stays covered.
What it pays. Death from an accident, death from any cause after the first 2 years, and terminal illness expected to cause death within 12 months.
Free look. 30 days from the policy start, with a full refund if no claim has been made. After that, cancelling means premiums paid are not refunded, and rejoining restarts the 2-year period.
Residency. A New Zealand or Australian citizen, a permanent resident visa holder, or a work visa holder with 6 months or more in New Zealand.

For the plan details, see Quick Life. Funeral Insurance (ages 40 to 75, $3,000 to $30,000) is on the Funeral Cover page.

The first two years

Quick Life's wording defines a pre-existing condition by looking back 2 years from the start: any illness, condition or symptoms in that time counts, including treatment or advice and symptoms that were never diagnosed. Its examples are very high blood pressure, cholesterol over 7.0, a BMI over 40 and complications related to diabetes. Death from one of these in the first 2 years pays no benefit and premiums are refunded. After 2 years they are covered, except some specific conditions that can be permanently excluded in the policy schedule. Never covered, at any time: alcohol or drug effects (unless taken as prescribed), war, terrorism, criminal activity, and dangerous jobs or pastimes listed in the wording, such as handling explosives, diving below 40 metres, driving above 130 km/h or professional sport. Occupation and pastime are not asked at application; they matter at claim time. Read the two-year exclusion explained and the pre-existing conditions guide.

This is the point many people under 50 miss. They look at guaranteed acceptance because of a condition, and the condition is the thing the first two years leave out.

How the price compares

QuoteHub's Premium Index shows monthly cost ranges across insurers' published rate cards as at 8 September 2026, for non-smokers at standard rates in occupation class 1, with stepped premiums.

Monthly cost, non-smoker	Man	Woman
$500,000 at age 30, five underwritten insurers	$30 to $40	$20 to $30
$500,000 at age 40, five underwritten insurers	$40 to $50	$35 to $40
$250,000 at age 40, six insurers including Momentum's Quick Life	$25 to $70	$20 to $60

Quick Life was not priced at $500,000 because its starting maximum is $300,000, so the $500,000 rows show what the underwritten insurers charge for a larger sum than Quick Life starts with. Your own premium depends on underwriting, which can add a loading or exclude a condition. See the Premium Index methodology and life insurance rates for the full tables and basis.

Healthy under 50: why underwritten usually fits better

"Underwritten" does not have to mean a medical exam. Fidelity Life's underwriting guide lists an application form alone as the minimum evidence up to $500,000 at every age band, and Chubb's guide says a personal statement up to $500,000, though disclosed conditions trigger more. With underwritten cover the insurer decides on your disclosed health before it issues the policy, so terms are set for you rather than by a blanket rule; Fidelity and Chubb apply a suicide exclusion for the first 13 months. The risks differ: an insurer can load the premium, exclude a condition, postpone a decision or decline, and cover can be affected if something material is not disclosed. IFSO's published cases show what a missed disclosure can cost: in one, 50% loadings were applied after a stroke claim and the claim was paid at a reduced amount. The full comparison is in guaranteed acceptance versus full medical.

When guaranteed acceptance may fit

You have been declined. See life insurance after a decline.
You want cover now and the sum is modest. Quick Life or a like-for-like policy such as Greenwich Life's QuickCover Life (ages 21 to 60, $50,000 to $200,000, existing conditions not covered for the first two years) is in place without questions.
Your condition is stable and you are not sure what an insurer would do. Ask an adviser before you apply; no New Zealand insurer publishes terms for most conditions, and none can be promised.

Booster's Super Simple Life Insurance, for KiwiSaver members aged 18 to 50, is a different kind of product: an online risk assessment, $20,000 to $200,000 of cover and indicative prices of about $5, $10 and $20 a month for $50,000, $100,000 and $200,000 for a 30-year-old non-smoker, according to Booster's Super Simple Life Insurance page as at 20 October 2026.

Where to get advice

On Momentum's financial strength: A.M. Best rates Momentum Life Limited B (Fair), a grade Momentum's own table labels "Vulnerable" (financial strength page). A rating is an opinion on an insurer's ability to pay claims, not a recommendation. QuoteHub is a Momentum Life partner, and Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver may be paid a commission if you take out a Momentum policy (how we are paid). 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.