How gout affects life insurance in NZ

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.

Gout and life insurance in New Zealand: we found no insurer here that publishes terms for gout, so nobody can tell you in advance what you will be offered. On cover with health questions, the underwriter will look at how well the gout is controlled and at your kidneys, blood pressure and weight. Momentum's Quick Life asks no health questions but limits related deaths for 2 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.

Gout is a long-term inflammatory arthritis. Excess uric acid forms crystals in a joint and causes sudden, severe attacks, most often in the big toe. Healthify NZ says most Māori and Pacific people have genes that stop their kidneys getting rid of uric acid, that gout is not the person's fault, and that a doctor diagnoses it from symptoms and a blood test showing uric acid usually above 0.36 mmol/L (Healthify). That is the medical picture. The insurance picture looks beyond the joint, to what gout is linked with. This page is organised around that, and around what you can gather before you apply.

What an insurer is likely to look past gout to see

Healthify NZ says untreated gout can harm the kidneys and that kidney stones can form. It also says long-term uric-acid-lowering medicine can lower the risk of heart disease or stroke. Insurers' underwriting guides list kidney function tests and cardiovascular risk factors among their checks, so it is reasonable to expect questions about both. Healthify's target is a uric acid level under 0.36 mmol/L, or under 0.30 mmol/L when tophi (lumps under the skin) are present, with monthly checks until the target is reached and then every 6 to 12 months. A record showing that you have reached the target and stayed there is a useful thing to hold.

We found no published insurer table linking urate levels, flare frequency or medication to a rating, so we have not built one. What we can show is what the published evidence rules look like, from the underwriting guides of two insurers.

The evidence ladder for cover with health questions

Fidelity Life and Chubb Life publish evidence requirements by age and amount. For life cover, each needs only an application form up to $500,000 at every age band. From $500,001 for ages 61 and over, both ask for a first level of medical evidence, called Code A (for Fidelity, a GP medical or paramedical exam, HbA1c, lipids and liver tests). Fidelity's higher levels add creatinine, a measure of kidney function, and further tests (Fidelity Life: underwriting guide; Chubb Life: underwriting guide, May 2025). These are minimums. A disclosed condition such as gout can lead an insurer to ask for more.

Build counts too. Fidelity treats a body mass index of 37 or above as needing Code A evidence, and Chubb's build exam applies from 37. Both treat build as one risk factor among several, so a high BMI alongside gout is something to discuss with an adviser before applying.

A records checklist

Before you speak to an adviser, it helps to have these to hand:

The date gout was diagnosed, and your GP's notes on flares.
Recent uric acid (urate) results, and the dates.
Current medication, including whether you take a long-term urate-lowering medicine, and for how long.
Recent kidney function results (creatinine, eGFR) and any history of kidney stones.
Blood pressure readings, and cholesterol and blood sugar results if you have them.
Your height and weight.
Any other conditions, such as diabetes or heart disease. Our kidney disease page and rheumatoid arthritis page cover two related questions.

Answer every question completely. IFSO publishes cases where an insurer avoided a policy or reduced a claim because information was left out (IFSO). Asteron Life describes the options for an existing condition as adding a stand-down period, raising the premium, or excluding the condition permanently or for a set time (Asteron Life).

What Quick Life does with gout

Quick Life takes applicants aged 18 to 65 for $50,000 to $300,000 to start, and its stepped premiums rise each year until 75. It asks no health questions and needs no medical exam. For the first 2 years it does not pay for a death, or a terminal illness diagnosis, that is "directly or indirectly related" to suicide or intentional self-harm or to a pre-existing medical condition. A pre-existing condition is any illness, condition or symptoms in the 2 years before the policy started, including anything treated (Momentum Life: Quick Life policy wording, November 2025).

Gout that you have had flares or treatment for in the 2 years before the policy would fall inside that definition. The more interesting question is the words "directly or indirectly". If gout is linked to kidney damage or a heart event, Momentum could treat a death from either as related to a pre-existing condition. The wording does not say where it would draw that line, and the decision is made at claim time. The wording names "very high blood pressure", cholesterol over 7.0 and a BMI over 40 as pre-existing markers, so those are worth checking against your own results. If a related death happens in the first 24 months and no claim is payable, premiums are refunded. After 2 years pre-existing conditions are covered, except for a few specific conditions that can be listed as permanent exclusions in the policy schedule.

What Funeral Insurance does

Funeral Insurance pays a fixed benefit of $3,000 to $30,000 towards costs and takes applicants aged 40 to 75. There is no pre-existing-condition clause, so the gout itself is not the test. For the first 24 months it pays only for accidental death within 90 days of the accident, and any other death pays nothing and refunds all premiums for that person. After 24 months it pays for death from any cause. Total premiums can exceed the benefit, and it may not cover the whole funeral. It suits someone who wants a small amount for final costs, not cover to protect a family's income or a mortgage.

Reading the cost side

Cost depends on more than gout. Age is the largest driver of price in QuoteHub's September 2026 Premium Index, and smoker rates run well above non-smoker rates (QuoteHub quotes). Stepped premiums rise each year, so a low first-year price says little about what you will pay later. Our guide to how much life insurance costs sets out the main drivers.

About Momentum Life

If you are weighing Momentum as a company: A.M. Best gives Momentum Life Limited a B (Fair) rating (affirmed 11 February 2026), a grade Momentum's own scale lists as "Vulnerable". It is not a recommendation, and Momentum's financial strength page sets out the rest. QuoteHub is a Momentum Life partner, and Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver may receive a commission if you buy through our link (how we are paid).

The buttons on this page open Momentum's online application for Quick Life or Funeral Insurance. For the basics of the product type, see what guaranteed acceptance is, our pre-existing conditions guide and the guaranteed acceptance hub. This is general information, not advice for your circumstances.