Is guaranteed acceptance life insurance worth it?

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.

Guaranteed acceptance life insurance is worth considering if your health has kept you out of standard cover, or if you want cover without answering health questions and accept the early period. It is a poor fit if you are healthy or expect to claim soon: it caps the amount, restricts the first two years, and cover with health questions usually offers more for less.

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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.

"Worth it" depends on the person, so this page sets out what Momentum Life's Quick Life and Funeral Insurance give and take away, tests them against three situations, and lists what to check first. Guaranteed acceptance is life or funeral cover where the insurer accepts you without assessing your health. The trade is stated in the wordings. Quick Life's cover is $50,000 to $300,000 and, for the first two years, excludes pre-existing conditions and suicide. Funeral Insurance's benefit is $3,000 to $30,000 and, for the first 24 months, pays only for accidental death. Neither is a substitute for a larger policy that clears a mortgage or replaces a wage.

What you gain and what you give up

You gain	You give up
No health questions or medical exam; acceptance on age and residency	An early period: two years (Quick Life) or 24 months (Funeral) of restricted claims
Cover in place without waiting for an underwriter	Lower amounts: Quick Life tops out at $300,000 to start, Funeral Insurance at $30,000
Health is not assessed, so no health-based decline or loading	Pricing set for everyone who applies, not for your own health
Quick Life pays on terminal illness	Funeral Insurance has no terminal illness benefit
Premiums refunded if death in the early period is excluded (Funeral: any non-accident death; Quick Life: a pre-existing condition)	Some conditions can be permanently excluded in Quick Life's schedule

Sources: Quick Life policy wording, November 2025 and Funeral Insurance policy wording, 17 August 2023.

Three situations, compared

This is a decision aid, not advice on your own circumstances. The columns show how the same products look from three starting points.

	A: healthy, 40, wants family cover	B: declined or has a condition, 50	C: 68, wants funeral money
Cover with health questions	Likely open; often more cover for less	May be open with a loading, an exclusion or a postponement; may be declined	A different route through an adviser; terms depend on health
What Momentum offers	Quick Life: up to $300,000, stepped premiums	Quick Life accepts with no health check; the condition itself is excluded for two years	Funeral Insurance (to 75): $3,000 to $30,000; Quick Life is closed over 65
Main catch	Underwritten cover usually gives more cover for less money when you are healthy	A claim linked to the condition in the first two years is not paid	Accident-only for 24 months; total premiums can pass the benefit
Worth considering?	Usually price underwritten cover first	Often considered as a floor, with an adviser asked about alternatives	Depends on savings, the benefit size and how long you expect to pay

For A, the Premium Index shows the scale of underwritten cover: $500,000 for a non-smoking 40-year-old man was roughly $480 to $600 a year across the five insurers that priced it, indicative stepped rates from published rate cards as at 8 September 2026, rounded outward (see the method). Quick Life cannot provide that amount, so it is not in that range. So it is not a like-for-like price. Our cost page explains why we publish no Momentum premium and how to compare.

For B, the benefit is that health does not decide acceptance, but the first two years matter most. Ask whether the condition is likely to cause a claim soon. If it is, this policy will not pay for it in that time, though premiums are refunded when death is from a pre-existing condition and no claim is payable. See life insurance after a decline.

For C, remember the age rule: Quick Life accepts only 18 to 65, and neither product accepts new applicants over 75.

Where the real downside sits

In the early period, the downside is not mainly the premiums: Momentum refunds them for a non-accident Funeral death and for a Quick Life pre-existing-condition death in the first 24 months (the Quick Life wording states no refund for suicide). The downside is that the benefit is not paid when it was needed. The later downside is cumulative cost. Both Momentum wordings say total premiums could be more than the benefit. A made-up example: say a policy cost $600 a year; paid for 20 years that totals $12,000, more than a $10,000 benefit. That is not a Momentum price, only arithmetic; use the break-even calculator with your own figures.

Stepped premiums sharpen the point. Quick Life's premiums are recalculated every year for age and generally rise until they are fixed from 75. In the same Premium Index snapshot, underwritten $500,000 cover for a non-smoking man rose from about $1,080 to $1,440 a year at 50 to $3,600 to $4,500 at 60. Quick Life is a different product, but the direction of stepped cost with age is the same. Check you could keep paying for as long as you want the cover, because rejoining after a lapse restarts the two-year rule.

What to check before deciding

Could you be accepted on standard terms? Ask a licensed adviser. Fidelity and Chubb list only an application form or personal statement as the minimum evidence for cover up to $500,000 at every age band, though disclosed conditions lead to more evidence.
How likely is a claim in the next two years? If it is high and tied to a known condition, the policy is unlikely to pay.
Is the amount enough? Compare it with debts, dependants and the funeral. See cover amounts.
Do you already hold cover? The FMA says keep existing cover until the new policy is in force, and watch for new waiting periods and exclusions (FMA: Insurance). See switching life insurance.
Who is the insurer? Momentum Life holds an A.M. Best rating of B (Fair), affirmed on 11 February 2026, which Momentum's own table groups under "Vulnerable"; see its financial strength page.

Alternatives to explore first

Cover that asks health questions, through a licensed adviser. Asteron says an existing condition can often still be covered by adding a stand-down period, raising the premium, or excluding the condition (Asteron). Terms depend on the person and insurer, and nothing is promised.
Other guaranteed acceptance products. Greenwich Life's QuickCover Life takes ages 21 to 60 for $50,000 to $200,000, with a similar two-year restriction on existing conditions (Greenwich Life).
Savings or another route for funeral costs. Work and Income's Funeral Grant has a maximum of $2,697.43 and its own tests, and prepaid funeral cover can affect it (Work and Income).

The full comparison is on guaranteed acceptance versus full medical and our guide to life insurance without a medical exam.

Where to get advice

The buttons on this page lead to Momentum Life's online application for Quick Life or Funeral Insurance if you decide it fits. 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 other insurers 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 guaranteed acceptance hub.