Life insurance with kidney disease or renal failure

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 kidney disease in New Zealand depends on how the kidneys are working and how the cover is bought. We found no NZ insurer that publishes its terms for any stage, so none can be promised. Momentum's Quick Life, for ages 18 to 65, asks no health questions but for 2 years does not pay a death related to a pre-existing condition, and refunds premiums.

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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.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) means kidney damage that causes a gradual loss of kidney function and generally cannot be reversed. Healthify NZ says it is diagnosed when blood and urine tests show a consistently reduced eGFR (estimated glomerular filtration rate) and/or a raised urine ACR (albumin-creatinine ratio) over a 3-month period, and that those results decide which of 5 stages a person is at (Healthify: Kidney disease). The tests that diagnose and stage the condition are also tests insurers can ask for, which is why this page starts with them.

How kidney function shows up on an insurance form

An underwriter assessing cover with health questions looks at the same measures your doctor does. Fidelity Life's higher evidence levels for larger amounts or older applicants add creatinine, a blood marker of kidney function, and one of Chubb Life's higher levels does too (Fidelity Life: underwriting guide; Chubb Life: underwriting guide, May 2025). For smaller amounts and younger ages, both insurers need only an application form or a personal statement, but a disclosed kidney condition can lead to more requests.

We found no NZ insurer that publishes a table linking eGFR or CKD stage to a decision. Anything that says stage 1 gets a loading and stage 4 a decline is a guess, and we have not printed one. What you can do is know your own numbers: your most recent eGFR and urine ACR, the dates, your blood pressure and whether you have diabetes. They are the facts an insurer is likely to ask for, and an adviser will want them first.

What causes kidney disease, and why it matters here

Healthify NZ says diabetes and high blood pressure are the most common causes of CKD, that about 1 in 3 people with diabetes will end up with some kidney damage, and that Māori and Pacific people with diabetes have an increased risk. This matters for guaranteed acceptance, because Quick Life's wording names "very high blood pressure" and "complications related to diabetes" among the markers inside its pre-existing condition definition (Momentum Life: Quick Life policy wording, November 2025). If your kidney problem comes from either, both the kidney condition and its cause are inside the 2-year rule. Our page on diabetes and high blood pressure covers that side.

What Quick Life does in the first 2 years

Quick Life pays $50,000 to $300,000 to start and takes ages 18 to 65, with premiums that step up each year until 75. 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 you had treatment or advice for, or symptoms noticed even if undiagnosed.

A worked example, with invented, round numbers, shows how a claim could run.

Month of death	Cause	Likely result under the wording
10	Kidney failure in a person with CKD diagnosed 3 years earlier	No benefit. Premiums refunded, as death was from a pre-existing condition and no claim is payable
10	Road accident	Benefit paid. Accidental death is covered from day one
10	A new illness unrelated to the kidney condition	Benefit paid, if Momentum agrees it is unrelated
30	Kidney failure in the same person	Benefit paid, unless the policy schedule lists a permanent exclusion for the condition

The wording says a few specific conditions can be listed as permanent exclusions in the schedule, but it does not list them. Ask what yours would say before you pay. The first 2 years restart on any reinstatement and on a cover increase (for the increase only, unless the increase is automatic).

Momentum's own Quick Life page adds that the product is not available to applicants diagnosed with a terminal illness or in palliative or hospice care (Momentum Life: Quick Life). That rule is on the site, not in the wording. It is worth knowing, because Healthify NZ notes that some people with severe kidney failure choose conservative (palliative) care instead of dialysis or a transplant. If that describes you, see life insurance with a terminal illness, and ask an adviser what is open.

Dialysis and transplants

Healthify NZ says severe or end-stage kidney disease may need dialysis or a kidney transplant. We found no insurer terms for either, so we state none. A transplant has its own page: life insurance after an organ transplant. If a cover with health questions has been declined, life insurance after a decline sets out the options.

Funeral Insurance

Funeral Insurance (ages 40 to 75, fixed benefit of $3,000 to $30,000 towards costs) asks no health questions and has no pre-existing-condition clause, so a kidney diagnosis is not a ground for refusing a claim after the early window. For the first 24 months it pays only for accidental death within 90 days of the accident; any other death pays nothing and all premiums for that person are refunded. After 24 months it pays for death from any cause. Premiums are fixed each year until the 89th birthday. Total premiums can exceed the benefit, and the benefit may not cover the whole funeral, so it is not a savings plan.

Which route to weigh up

	Cover with health questions	Quick Life	Funeral Insurance
Kidney results asked for	May be, and tests may be requested	No	No
Ages	Set by each insurer	18 to 65	40 to 75
Amount	Higher amounts possible	$50,000 to $300,000 to start	$3,000 to $30,000
Kidney-related death in year one	Per the terms offered	No benefit; premiums refunded	No benefit; premiums refunded

Answer every question on a cover with health questions completely. IFSO publishes cases where a policy was avoided or a claim reduced for non-disclosure (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). See what guaranteed acceptance is for the basics.

About Momentum Life

A.M. Best rates Momentum Life Limited B (Fair), affirmed on 11 February 2026, and Momentum's own scale puts B in its "Vulnerable" range. That is an opinion on the insurer, not a recommendation; Momentum's financial strength page has more. 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. Back to the guaranteed acceptance hub. This is general information, not advice for your circumstances.