Life insurance over 50 in New Zealand
Over 50, life insurance is still available in New Zealand, but the route depends on your health and age. A healthy person usually gets more cover for less through underwritten cover from an adviser. Guaranteed acceptance cover asks no health questions: Momentum Life’s Quick Life takes people to 65 and its Funeral Insurance to 75, with limits in the first years.
Life insurance over 50 at a glance
Life insurance over 50 in New Zealand is cover that pays a lump sum when you die, taken out at 50 or older. It is still widely available, but the price and the route change. Premiums on the common stepped structure rise every year and rise faster after 50. Fully underwritten cover, arranged through a licensed adviser, asks about your health and usually gives a healthy person more cover for less. Guaranteed acceptance cover asks no health questions: Momentum Life’s Quick Life accepts people aged 18 to 65 for $50,000 to $300,000 to start, and its Funeral Insurance accepts people aged 40 to 75 for $3,000 to $30,000. Both restrict the first years. Quick Life excludes pre-existing conditions and suicide for the first 2 years, and Funeral Insurance pays only accidental death for the first 24 months. Neither takes new applicants over 75. The buttons on this page lead to Momentum Life’s own online application.
What changes after 50
Premiums generally increase with age and underwriting can become stricter. Medical disclosures become more important for approval and pricing outcomes.
Cover design should focus on clear priorities: debt repayment, partner income support, and liquidity for family transition. A workable sum is what you would leave in debts, plus the household income your partner would need replaced until their own savings take over, plus funeral costs, less savings and any cover you already hold. QuoteHub’s life insurance calculator does that arithmetic, and a total above $300,000 is beyond what Momentum Life’s Quick Life offers to start, so it is a job for a licensed adviser.
What is open to new applicants over 50
The table below sets out the main routes for a new applicant at 50 or older, with how you are accepted, the entry ages and the rule for the first years. Entry ages are checked on the day you apply, so a policy that takes people to 65 does not take someone who turned 66 last week. It is a list of what is open, not a ranking, and each insurer’s own policy document is the contract.
Two points stand out. Guaranteed acceptance products trade health questions for a wait, and the length of the wait differs by insurer: 2 years of exclusions on Momentum Life’s Quick Life, 24 months on Momentum Life’s and AA’s funeral cover, 12 months on NZ Seniors’ funeral cover. And underwritten cover has no such wait, but you have to be accepted first, and the insurer may add a loading or an exclusion for a condition. Premiums refunded when a death falls inside a wait are a refund, not a benefit.
What stepped premiums do between 50 and 65
Stepped premiums are re-priced every year at your new age, so keeping the same cover costs more with each birthday. To show how fast, we used the QuoteHub Premium Index (September 2026), which holds five underwritten insurers’ published rate cards as at 8 September 2026 for non-smoking, occupation class 1 applicants on standard rates, collected through adviser rating software. For each insurer we divided its stepped monthly cost at 55, 60 and 65 by its own cost at 50 for the same cover, at $250,000, $500,000 and $1,000,000. These are multiples, not prices, and your own cost depends on underwriting.
For men the stepped cost at 55 was roughly 1.6 to 1.8 times the cost at 50, at 60 roughly 3.0 to 3.4 times, and at 65 roughly 6.1 to 6.8 times. For women the multiples were roughly 1.6 to 1.8 at 55, 2.7 to 3.1 at 60 and 4.7 to 5.4 at 65. The pattern was the same at all three cover amounts and across all five insurers: the step from 55 to 60 is larger than the step from 50 to 55, and the step from 60 to 65 is larger again.
Level premiums start higher and are held, so they do not follow that curve. The Index holds stepped rates only, so we cannot chart a level curve, and which structure costs less depends on how many years you keep the cover. The guide to stepped versus level premiums and the stepped premium projector work through the trade, and the crossover guide shows where the two meet. Momentum Life’s Quick Life is stepped to age 75 and then fixed; its Funeral Insurance is level until the 89th birthday.
Keeping cover affordable
Affordability can improve through realistic cover sizing, adjusted waiting periods for income cover, and careful premium-structure selection.
Reviewing existing policies is valuable. Some people can improve value by reshaping benefits rather than replacing entire policies. Keep an existing policy until a new one is in force, because replacing cover can restart waiting periods and exclusions.
Funeral cover or life cover after 50
Life cover and funeral cover do different jobs. Life cover is a larger sum for debts and for the people who depend on your income. Funeral insurance is a small fixed sum set aside for final costs: Momentum Life’s Funeral Insurance pays a fixed benefit of $3,000 to $30,000 towards costs, and triple that for an accidental death. Funeral cover makes more sense when you want a modest, fixed amount, would struggle to be accepted for life cover, or are past the age at which underwritten life cover is open to you.
Weigh funeral cover against what it costs to keep: total premiums can add up to more than the benefit, and the benefit may not meet the whole cost of a funeral. Saving the same money, or a prepaid funeral plan, are alternatives that carry no waiting period.
What a funeral costs, and what the state covers
The Funeral Directors Association of New Zealand’s 2026 industry report puts a full funeral with 50 guests at $11,700 for a cremation and $14,300 for a burial. It also publishes itemised ranges, indicative as at July 2025 and varying by funeral director: a professional services fee of $3,000 to $6,500, preparation such as embalming $700 to $1,050, a cremation fee of $600 to $1,100, burial plot and interment $1,000 to $8,000, and a casket $1,200 to $5,000. The association directs people to a funeral director for a written estimate.
The state contribution depends on how the person died. ACC pays up to $8,236.40 with no means test, but only for an accidental death (the figure is reported by Community Law, whose page was read on 18 October 2026; ACC’s own site could not be read). For a death from illness the main help is Work and Income’s Funeral Grant, up to $2,697.43, as read on its website on 20 October 2026. It is means tested: where the person who died is not your partner or child, their total assets are deducted from the funeral expenses, and prepaid funeral cover or other help with costs can mean it is not paid. Neither figure covers an average funeral on its own.
Sources
Momentum Life, Quick Life Insurance policy wording (November 2025) and Funeral Insurance policy wording (issue date 17 August 2023), momentumlife.co.nz/quicklife-insurance and momentumlife.co.nz/financial-strength, retrieved 17 October 2026.
Fidelity Life, Life Cover factsheet (November 2025), fidelitylife.co.nz; NZ Seniors, Seniors Life Insurance and Seniors Funeral Insurance policy documents, nzseniors.co.nz; AA Life, Funeral Cover product page, aa.co.nz/insurance/life-insurance/funeral-cover; all read 16 September 2026.
QuoteHub Premium Index, September 2026 snapshot (insurers’ published rate cards as at 8 September 2026), quotehub.co.nz/quotes/methodology.
Funeral Directors Association of New Zealand, 2026 New Zealand Funeral Industry Trends Report and funeral costs and financial support page, funeraldirectors.co.nz, retrieved 9 September 2026. Work and Income, Funeral Grant, workandincome.govt.nz/products/a-z-benefits/funeral-grant.html, retrieved 20 October 2026. Community Law, funeral and tangihanga costs, communitylaw.org.nz, retrieved 18 October 2026.
| Product and insurer | How you are accepted | Entry ages and cover | The first years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Underwritten life cover, through an adviser (Fidelity Life as an example) | Health questions and sometimes medical evidence; accepted, loaded, excluded or declined | Each insurer sets its own; Fidelity Life takes 16 to 75 with no expiry age | Cover applies from the start, subject to the policy’s exclusions and any loading or exclusion added |
| Quick Life, Momentum Life | Guaranteed acceptance, no health questions | 18 to 65; $50,000 to $300,000 to start, 3% yearly indexation to a $500,000 cap per life insured | Pre-existing conditions and suicide excluded for 2 years; premiums refunded if a pre-existing condition death leaves no claim payable |
| Funeral Insurance, Momentum Life | Guaranteed acceptance, no health questions | 40 to 75; $3,000 to $30,000, triple for accidental death | Accidental death only for 24 months, then any cause; premiums refunded for other deaths in that window |
| Seniors Life Insurance, NZ Seniors | Eight medical history questions over the phone, no medical exam | 45 to 79; $10,000 to $200,000; cover ends at 85 | Covered straight away for death by any cause; suicide excluded for the first 13 months |
| Funeral Cover, AA Life | Guaranteed acceptance, no medical questions | 50 to 79; $5,000 to $30,000 | Accidental death only for 24 months; premiums refunded for natural-cause death in that window |
| Seniors Funeral Insurance, NZ Seniors | Guaranteed acceptance, no medical screening | 18 to 79; up to $30,000 | Accidental death only for 12 months, then any cause |
Frequently asked questions
Can I still get life insurance after 50 in NZ?
Yes, many people can. Terms and pricing depend on health profile, cover amount, and insurer underwriting criteria. If you would rather not answer health questions, guaranteed acceptance cover exists, with limits in the first years: Momentum Life’s Quick Life takes applicants aged 18 to 65 and its Funeral Insurance 40 to 75.
Is cover expensive after age 50?
Costs are higher than at younger ages and climb faster with each year on a stepped premium. In the September 2026 Premium Index the stepped cost at 60 was roughly three times the cost at 50, and at 65 roughly five to seven times. Structured policy design and realistic cover sizing can still produce practical outcomes.
Should I keep existing older policies?
Sometimes yes. Existing policy terms can be valuable, so review before cancelling or replacing. A new policy can restart waiting periods and exclusions.
Do I still need trauma or income cover after 50?
Potentially. It depends on work status, debt exposure, and personal risk priorities.
What is the oldest age I can take out Momentum Life cover?
Quick Life accepts new applicants aged 18 to 65 and Funeral Insurance accepts New Zealanders aged 40 to 75. Neither accepts new applicants over 75. A licensed adviser can say what is open to you at an older age.
What happens if I die in the first two years of a guaranteed acceptance policy?
It depends on the policy. On Momentum Life’s Quick Life, a death from a pre-existing condition or suicide in the first 2 years is not paid, and the premiums are refunded if a death from a pre-existing condition leaves no claim payable. On its Funeral Insurance, only an accidental death is paid in the first 24 months, and any other death in that window gets the premiums back.
Does Momentum Life have a financial strength rating?
Yes. A.M. Best rates Momentum Life B (Fair), affirmed on 11 February 2026, which sits in A.M. Best’s vulnerable range. A rating is an agency’s opinion of an insurer’s finances, not a statement about any one claim. The grade and its solvency position are on Momentum Life’s financial strength page.
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