Can you get life insurance with no waiting period?

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.

Life insurance with no waiting period pays for illness from the start date, and in New Zealand that normally comes from cover where you answer health questions through a licensed adviser. Guaranteed acceptance policies limit the first stage: Momentum Life's Quick Life excludes pre-existing conditions and suicide for two years, and its Funeral Insurance pays only for accidental death for 24 months.

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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 waiting period, also called a stand-down period, is a time after cover starts when some or all claims are not paid. Not all policies use the term. Quick Life's wording refers to a "two year standdown period" that begins again if you cancel and rejoin, and describes the restriction as an exclusion for pre-existing conditions and suicide. Funeral Insurance has a 24-month rule under which only accidental death is covered. The first point to understand is that guaranteed acceptance and no waiting period are different things: the insurer that takes you without looking at your health protects itself by restricting the early claims. This page shows what that means by cause of death.

What a death in month 11 pays

"Month 11" falls inside every early period on this page. The table shows what each kind of policy pays by cause. The underwritten column assumes standard terms with nothing special added to your schedule, which can differ; the guaranteed acceptance columns follow the wordings.

Cause of death in month 11	Underwritten cover, standard terms	Quick Life	Funeral Insurance
Accident	Pays the sum insured	Pays	Pays 3 times the benefit if death is within 90 days of the accident
Illness first arising after the start	Pays the sum insured	Pays	No benefit; all premiums for that person refunded
Illness or symptoms you had before the start	Depends on what you disclosed and the terms you were given	No benefit; premiums refunded if no claim is payable	No benefit; all premiums refunded
Suicide or intentional self-harm	Not paid inside 13 months at Fidelity and Chubb	No benefit; no refund is stated	No benefit; all premiums refunded (not an accident under the wording)

Quick Life's two-year restriction also applies to terminal illness: no benefit is paid for a terminal illness diagnosed in the first two years if it is related to a pre-existing condition. Terminal illness from a condition that first arose after the start is not excluded.

Underwritten cover: what "no waiting period" rests on

Underwritten cover is cover where the insurer assesses your health before it accepts you. Fidelity's LifeProtect Life Cover wording (effective 22 September 2026) pays the sum insured if the insured person dies. The only early exclusion in that cover wording is suicide, within 13 months of the start date, reinstatement or an increase; Fidelity retains the premiums in that case. Its separate terms and conditions and your policy schedule can add more, and we have not read them. Chubb's suicide exclusion is also 13 months (Fidelity and Chubb wordings, retrieved 20 October 2026).

The catch is that special terms exist. Asteron says an insurer can offer cover for a person with an existing condition by adding a stand-down period, raising the premium or excluding the condition, permanently or for a set time (Asteron). So "underwritten" does not by itself guarantee no waiting period: read the terms you are offered.

Cover also does not start when you start the form. Fidelity says its pre-assessment "is not an offer of cover, nor a binding final assessment". Cover starts when the insurer accepts you, and it can ask for more information first. Answers must be accurate: IFSO publishes a case where an insurer applied loadings after a claim and paid a reduced benefit because past conditions were not disclosed (IFSO).

Quick Life: from day one, with limits

Quick Life's wording describes two stages. In the first two years you are covered for accidental death and for medical conditions that arise after the policy starts. Pre-existing conditions and suicide are not covered. After two years pre-existing conditions are covered, except for some specific conditions that can be permanently excluded, and those are listed in your schedule (Quick Life policy wording, p8).

What counts as pre-existing is wide: any illness, condition or symptoms in the 2 years before the start, including treatment or advice, symptoms noticed even if undiagnosed, and what you would reasonably have been aware of. It also names very high blood pressure, cholesterol over 7.0, a BMI over 40 and complications related to diabetes. The two years begin again after reinstatement, after cancelling and rejoining, and for any increase you request yourself, though not for the automatic 3% increase. See waiting periods and the suicide clause for the general ideas.

Funeral Insurance: a 24-month window

In the first 24 months, Momentum's Funeral Insurance pays only if the person dies as a direct result of an accident and within 90 days of it. After 24 months it pays on death from any cause. Any other death in the window pays no benefit and all premiums for that person are refunded. There is no pre-existing condition clause and no separate suicide clause; the 24-month rule is the only early restriction. An increase, or an added person, starts a new 24 months for that increase or person. There is no terminal illness benefit. Total premiums can also end up larger than the benefit.

The window is the same length as Quick Life's two years, but the scope differs: Quick Life's first stage covers new illnesses; Funeral Insurance's does not. See the Funeral Cover page.

How to get cover that pays for illness sooner

Ask a licensed adviser to price cover with health questions. If you are accepted on standard terms, you may have cover without an illness restriction, but your policy schedule is what counts.
Disclose everything asked. Accurate answers protect a later claim.
Keep existing cover until the new policy is in force. The FMA warns about new qualifying periods and pre-existing exclusions when switching (FMA: Insurance). See switching life insurance.
If you cannot be accepted, use guaranteed acceptance for what it is. It provides cover that works in stages, not immediate cover for every cause. Compare the two on guaranteed acceptance versus full medical and in our guide to life insurance with no medical exam.

Neither Momentum product accepts new applicants over 75, and Quick Life is closed to new applicants over 65.

Where to get advice

If you are likely to claim soon, speak to a licensed adviser before you buy a policy that limits the first two years. On the insurer: A.M. Best rates Momentum Life B (Fair), affirmed on 11 February 2026, and Momentum's own table groups that grade under "Vulnerable"; see its financial strength page. The buttons on this page lead to Momentum's online application for Quick Life or Funeral Insurance. 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). Back to the guaranteed acceptance hub.

Get a quote and apply online today

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

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.

Already have cover? Keep it. New cover won't pay for a condition you already have in its first 2 years.

Adviser's view

No-health-question cover and no-waiting-period cover are different things. Quick Life pays accidental death and new conditions from the start but excludes pre-existing conditions and suicide for two years; Funeral Insurance pays only accidental death for 24 months. Cover that pays for illness from the start usually comes from answering health questions through a licensed adviser, which is worth doing if you are likely to claim soon.

Henry Smith, Financial Adviser (FSP1010699). General information, not personalised financial advice.

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Cite this page QuoteHub NZ (2026). Life Insurance No Waiting Period NZ: Cover Limits. www.quotehub.co.nz/guaranteed-acceptance/life-insurance-no-waiting-period-nz. Updated 2026-10-20.

References

Explore related pages: Life Insurance, Income Protection, Health Insurance, Trauma Insurance, Referral.