Your options after a life insurance application is declined

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.

A decline is one insurer's decision on one application, not a ban on life cover. In New Zealand you can ask the insurer for its reasons, check what you disclosed, have a licensed adviser put your history to other insurers, or take cover that asks no health questions, such as Momentum Life's Quick Life (ages 18 to 65), which excludes pre-existing conditions for two years.

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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.

Life insurance in New Zealand is decided insurer by insurer. A fully underwritten application asks about your health and the insurer then offers standard terms, offers cover at a higher price (a loading), excludes a condition, asks you to wait, or declines. Each insurer sets its own rules, so a decline from one is not a verdict from all. We found no source that says a decline is permanent, and equally no insurer publishes a list of conditions it will accept, so nobody can promise you a different answer elsewhere. What you can do is work through four steps in order: find out what was decided, check the facts behind it, ask an adviser to approach other insurers, and only then consider cover that asks no health questions but pays nothing for an existing condition in the first two years.

What a decline letter can actually mean

Not every unwelcome answer is a decline. Asteron Life says that with an existing medical condition it can usually still offer cover, and lists the ways it does so (Asteron Life: insurance options for pre-existing conditions). Read the letter for which of these you were given.

Outcome	What it means	Source
Decline	No cover is offered on that application	The plain meaning of the term
Deferral or postponement	You are asked to wait and reapply; Chubb says a recent Type 2 diabetes diagnosis is often deferred 12 months	Chubb
Stand-down	The condition is not covered for a set period	Asteron Life
Loading	The condition is covered but the premium is higher	Asteron Life
Exclusion	The condition is left out of cover, permanently or for a set time	Asteron Life

The difference matters. A loading or an exclusion is an offer you can accept, decline or take to an adviser. A deferral tells you when to try again.

Step 1: Find out what was decided and why

Ask the insurer, or the adviser who sent the application, for the decision and the reason in writing. You can also ask for the personal information the insurer holds about you. The Privacy Commissioner says you can ask any business or organisation for the information it holds about you, by email, letter, phone or in person, and that it must respond within 20 working days (Office of the Privacy Commissioner: your rights).

What to have ready:

the decline, loading or deferral letter, and the date of your application;
the name of the insurer and any adviser involved;
your own list of diagnoses, medicines, test results and dates, so you can compare it with what the insurer recorded.

One insurer's underwriting guide says its phone interviews are recorded and form part of the application (Fidelity Life underwriting guide, October 2025), so ask what was recorded as well as what was written.

Step 2: Check that your answers were accurate

Compare your own records with what the insurer holds. If something is wrong or missing, tell the insurer and your adviser. If you think the decision itself was unfair, complain to the insurer first. Retail financial providers must belong to an approved dispute resolution scheme, and you can take an unresolved complaint to it (FMA: disputes and consumer protection).

Do not hide a decline on your next application. The Insurance & Financial Services Ombudsman says insureds have an obligation to disclose all material information, and its published cases include insurers reducing or avoiding cover after an omission (IFSO: non-disclosure case). A previous decline is the kind of fact an insurer may treat as material, so answer any question about it truthfully. From 15 November 2027 (not yet in force) the Contracts of Insurance Act 2024 replaces the current test with a duty to take reasonable care not to make a misrepresentation, and dishonesty always counts as a lack of care (Contracts of Insurance Act 2024, s 13).

Step 3: Ask a licensed adviser to approach other insurers

Insurers do not assess alike. Partners Life, for example, says it requires no build exam or blood tests up to a BMI of 37.99 for some applicants who have no cardiovascular risk factors (RiskinfoNZ, 17 October 2024), while Fidelity Life and Chubb both set their build requirements at a BMI of 37 or above (Fidelity Life underwriting guide; Chubb underwriting guide, May 2025). Rules differ in detail, and an adviser who knows them can judge which insurers are worth approaching with your history. Asteron Life also notes that people with past health issues may benefit from a fully underwritten product, because it can be tailored to their circumstances.

An adviser must put your interests first when there is a conflict, and must tell you how they are paid; most insurance advisers receive commission from the insurer (FMA: insurance advice). QuoteHub is a Momentum Life partner, and Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver may receive a commission if you buy through our link (how we are paid).

If you already hold other cover, keep it running until any new policy is in force, as the FMA advises when replacing insurance (FMA: insurance). Read our guide to pre-existing conditions and, for a specific condition, life insurance with cancer.

Step 4: Consider cover with no health questions

If every underwritten route is closed or too expensive, guaranteed-acceptance cover is the fallback. Acceptance is guaranteed inside an age band; payment is not guaranteed in the early period.

	Quick Life	Funeral Insurance
Issued by	Momentum Life Limited	Momentum Life Limited
Ages	18 to 65	40 to 75
Amount	$50,000 to $300,000 per person	$3,000 to $30,000
Health questions	None	None
First period	2 years: pre-existing conditions and suicide excluded; premiums refunded for a pre-existing-condition death with no claim payable	24 months: accidental death only (death within 90 days of the accident); any other death refunds all premiums

Details are on the Quick Life and Funeral Insurance pages, in the policy wordings (Quick Life, November 2025; Funeral Insurance, 17 August 2023). Four things to weigh:

The reason for your decline may now count as a pre-existing condition. Quick Life defines it as any illness, condition or symptom in the 2 years before the policy starts, including anything you had treatment or advice for. A death related to it in the first 2 years pays no benefit. Read what the two-year exclusion means.
Terminal illness. Momentum's website says Quick Life is not available to applicants diagnosed with a terminal illness or in palliative or hospice care (Momentum: Quick Life).
Cost. Quick Life premiums rise each year until 75, and total premiums can exceed the benefit. For Funeral Insurance, total premiums can also exceed the benefit, and the benefit may not cover the whole funeral.
Compare once you are healthy enough to be assessed. A healthy person can usually get more cover for less with fully underwritten cover through an adviser, so a guaranteed-acceptance policy is a stopgap, not a final answer. See guaranteed acceptance versus full medical.

Momentum Life Limited is rated B (Fair) by A.M. Best, a rating in the agency's "Vulnerable" range on Momentum's own table, affirmed on 11 February 2026. See Momentum's financial strength page. A rating is an opinion of ability to pay claims, not a recommendation.

Rebuilding your position for a later application

Time and records are the levers you control. Asteron Life says that after cancer, the longer you have been in remission and out of treatment, the more options are available (Asteron Life: cancer and life insurance). The same logic applies in general: ask the insurer or your adviser what would change the decision and when it makes sense to reapply, keep your test results and specialist letters together, and do not let existing cover lapse in the meantime. Nobody can promise that waiting changes the answer, but a deferral letter that names a date tells you when the insurer is prepared to look again.

The buttons on this page go to Momentum's online quote. They are one option among several, and a licensed adviser can walk you through the others.