Life insurance with depression in NZ

Written by · 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.

Whether an insurer offers life insurance to someone with depression is decided case by case, and no New Zealand insurer publishes how it treats it. Guaranteed-acceptance Quick Life asks no health questions, but for the first two years it excludes pre-existing conditions and suicide, regardless of mental state, and refunds premiums on a related pre-existing death. Funeral Insurance pays only for accidental death for its first 24 months.

If you are struggling now, free help is available: call or text 1737 to talk to a trained counsellor (1737). The rest of this page is a factual look at insurance and uses plain words about suicide because the policy wording does.

Cover with health questions

When an insurer asks health questions, it can accept you on standard terms, add a loading, exclude a condition, postpone or decline. QuoteHub found no published terms for depression or anxiety from any New Zealand insurer, so we do not say that treated depression is accepted, loaded or declined. What is published is the process. Fidelity Life says a pre-assessment is "not an offer of cover, nor a binding final assessment", and that its tele-underwriting calls are recorded and form part of the application (Fidelity Life underwriting guide). Fidelity also says that to review a mental health exclusion once it is on a policy, a fully completed application form is required. Asteron Life says that for an existing condition it can add a stand-down, raise the premium, or exclude the condition permanently or for a set time (Asteron Life).

Taking antidepressants does not appear in any published insurer rule we found as an automatic decline. It also does not appear as an automatic acceptance. Be ready to describe the diagnosis, when it began, treatment and medication, time off work, and current state. Your GP can be asked for records.

Why disclosure carries the weight

The law today says insureds must disclose all material information, and the Insurance and Financial Services Ombudsman (IFSO) reports cases where a policy was avoided after a claim because depression, stress and other past conditions were not disclosed; the complaint was not upheld (IFSO). IFSO says materiality is tested with independent underwriters, and in another case an insurer applied loadings retrospectively and paid a reduced claim (IFSO).

From 15 November 2027 (not yet in force), the Contracts of Insurance Act 2024 replaces broad disclosure with a duty to take reasonable care not to make a misrepresentation, with remedies in proportion to what the insurer would have done (FMA). Until then, assume the current rule applies. Our guide to non-disclosure goes further.

How Quick Life treats a mental health history

Quick Life takes New Zealand residents aged 18 to 65, for $50,000 to $300,000 to start, with no health questions. In the first two years it does not pay for death or terminal illness related to a pre-existing medical condition, or to suicide, attempted suicide or intentional self-harm, "regardless of your mental state" (Momentum Life: Quick Life policy wording, November 2025). A pre-existing condition is any illness, condition or symptoms in the 2 years before the policy started, including anything you had treatment, advice, a diagnosis or medication for. If a pre-existing death happens in the first 24 months and no claim is payable, premiums are refunded.

Your situation What the Quick Life wording means
Treated for depression in the last 2 years Pre-existing. A death related to it in the first 24 months pays nothing; premiums refunded
Death by accident in the first 2 years Covered from day one
Death from an unrelated new illness in the first 2 years Covered, as new conditions arising after the start are covered
Suicide or self-harm in the first 2 years Excluded whatever the mental state, whether or not depression was diagnosed
A past episode with no care in the last 2 years The wording's definition has a 2-year look-back, but other pages describe it without one; ask Momentum before relying on it

After the first two years the wording's list of exclusions that apply at any time names alcohol and drugs, war, terrorism, criminal acts and dangerous jobs or pastimes, and does not list suicide. Increasing cover or reinstating a policy starts a new two-year period for the increase or the reinstated policy. Premiums are stepped, so they rise each year until 75, and total premiums can add up to more than the benefit.

Suicide clauses compared

Suicide clauses differ between policies. It is a common mistake to assume that every life policy has the same two-year clause.

Policy Suicide clause
Momentum Quick Life Excluded for 24 months from the start, an increase or reinstatement
Fidelity Life and Chubb Life 13 months from the start, reinstatement or increase
Momentum Funeral Insurance No separate clause; first 24 months pays only for accidental death, and an accident must be unintentional and not self-inflicted
AIA, Asteron, Partners Life Not confirmed by QuoteHub; check the policy wording

Sources: Fidelity and Chubb policy wordings and the Momentum wordings listed below. See also what suicide exclusions mean and the suicide clause explained.

Which route fits

Cover with health questions suits you if you want a larger amount and are willing to answer questions, and an adviser can ask several insurers at once; the outcome is the insurer's decision. Guaranteed acceptance suits you if you were declined or postponed, or want modest cover quickly and accept the early period. Funeral Insurance (ages 40 to 75, $3,000 to $30,000, 24 months of accident-only cover) is a funeral-costs benefit, not family protection, and its total premiums can exceed the benefit. For conditions that overlap, read bipolar and our depression and anxiety guide, and pre-existing conditions across insurers.

Momentum Life's A.M. Best rating is B (Fair), in what Momentum's financial strength page calls the "Vulnerable" range. Advice is provided by Craig Smith Business Services Limited, trading as Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver, a licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931). QuoteHub is a Momentum Life partner, and Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver may receive a commission if you buy through the buttons on this page; see how we are paid. Return to the guaranteed acceptance hub or read about Quick Life.

Adviser's view

Depression is not a bar to applying for life insurance, but the honest answer to 'will I be accepted' is that insurers decide individually and none publishes its terms. Guaranteed acceptance asks no health questions, but its first two years exclude pre-existing conditions and suicide, so it is not the same cover. Whichever route you take, answer health questions in full: IFSO case notes show non-disclosure is one way a claim goes wrong.
, Financial Adviser (FSP1010699). General information, not personalised financial advice.

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Cite this page QuoteHub NZ (2026). Life Insurance With Depression NZ: Cover Options. www.quotehub.co.nz/guaranteed-acceptance/life-insurance-with-depression-nz. Updated 2026-10-20.

References

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