Golden Insurance
An Australian-run brand (Neilson Financial Services) selling guaranteed-acceptance life cover to New Zealanders aged 40 to 80 by phone; the policy is issued by the New Zealand branch of Hallmark Life.
Golden Insurance at a glance
| Fact | What the register holds |
|---|---|
| Who underwrites it | Hallmark Life Insurance Company Limited (New Zealand branch) (source, Golden Life Insurance policy document) |
| Who sells it | Neilson Financial Services Pty Ltd |
| Licensed entity behind the policy | Neilson Financial Services Pty Ltd (distributor and promoter, ABN 52 668 314 896) |
| Owner of the underwriter | Neilson Financial Services Pty Ltd, Australia, part of the Neilson group (also Dignity Insurance, Direct Cover, Seniors Choice) |
| What they write | Golden Life Insurance |
| How you can buy | Direct only |
| Financial strength | Not published for public use in our register |
| Rating as at | Not published |
| On the QuoteHub panel | No, we do not place cover with them |
| Complaints | Financial Dispute Resolution Service, free for consumers |
What Golden Insurance writes
| Cover | What it pays |
|---|---|
| Golden Life Insurance | Guaranteed-acceptance life cover for ages 40 to 80, arranged by phone, with a terminal illness benefit. |
Is Golden Insurance a fit for you?
The reasons to shortlist it, and the catches to check first. Every line below is read from a Golden Insurance document, linked with the date.
Check these before you choose
- Who you are actually insured with. Golden Insurance is the brand; the insurer is Hallmark Life Insurance Company Limited, a New Zealand branch of an Australian company, and it is Hallmark Life that carries the policy. (source, Golden Life Insurance policy document page, goldeninsurance.co.nz, read 16 September 2026)
- Your age band sets the ceiling. The benefit you can choose depends on your age at commencement, up to $250,000; ask what your own age band allows before comparing. (source, Life Insurance page, goldeninsurance.co.nz, read 16 September 2026)
Golden Insurance could fit
If one or more of these look like your situation.
- Over 40 and wanting cover without a medical. Golden Life Insurance accepts New Zealand residents aged 40 to 80 on a health and lifestyle questionnaire, with no medical exam or blood test, from $10,000 of cover. (source, Life Insurance page, goldeninsurance.co.nz, read 16 September 2026)
Compare more carefully
If any of these apply, it is worth a closer look at the rest of the panel.
- No rating on the site. Golden Insurance publishes no financial strength rating for Hallmark Life; the policy document says to refer to your policy schedule for it. (source, Golden Life Insurance policy document page, goldeninsurance.co.nz, read 16 September 2026)
Waiting periods, limits and ages
The numbers worth checking before you compare, read from Golden Insurance’s own documents.
Golden Life Insurance: Up to $250,000, ages 40 to 80
Guaranteed-acceptance life cover with a terminal illness benefit, arranged by phone, with no medical exam or blood test.
- New Zealand residents aged 40 to 80 can apply, on a health and lifestyle questionnaire only: no medical exam and no blood test.
- Choose up to $250,000 of life insurance benefit, depending on your age at commencement.
- Arranged over the phone from a quick online quote request.
- A free Will Kit comes with every policy.
- The benefit you can choose depends on your age at commencement.
Source: Life Insurance page, goldeninsurance.co.nz, read 16 September 2026.
Who stands behind it: Issued by Hallmark Life
Golden Insurance is a trading name of an Australian distributor; the policy is issued by the New Zealand branch of Hallmark Life Insurance Company Limited.
- The policy is underwritten by Hallmark Life Insurance Company Limited, NZBN 9429039172631 and FSP 13701, a New Zealand branch of Hallmark Life Insurance Company Limited, incorporated in Australia (ABN 87 008 446 884).
- Hallmark Life states that it is a licensed insurer in New Zealand and the insurer of Golden Life Insurance.
- The financial strength rating is disclosed on each policy schedule rather than published on the site.
- No financial strength rating is published on goldeninsurance.co.nz; the policy document points to your policy schedule for it.
Source: Golden Life Insurance policy document page, goldeninsurance.co.nz, read 16 September 2026.
What it costs
QuoteHub does not quote or place cover with Golden Insurance. Compare the insurers we do quote.
How Golden Insurance compares on financial strength
Financial strength is the one comparable published fact about an insurer. Every grade below is the insurer's own disclosure for the named licensed entity, linked and dated. A rating belongs to that entity, not to a brand or a product name.
| Insurer | Licensed entity | Financial strength | Rating as at |
|---|---|---|---|
| AIA New Zealand | AIA New Zealand Limited | AA (Fitch, source, read 14 Aug 2026) | Date not published |
| Asteron Life | Asteron Life Limited | A+ (Fitch, source, read 14 Aug 2026) | Date not published |
| Chubb Life NZ | Chubb Life Insurance New Zealand Limited | A (Excellent) (A.M. Best, source, read 14 Aug 2026) | Date not published |
| Fidelity Life | Fidelity Life Assurance Company Limited | A- (A.M. Best, source, read 14 Aug 2026) | Date not published |
| Momentum Life | Momentum Life Limited (FSP472286) | B (Fair) (A.M. Best, source, read 14 Aug 2026) | 11 Feb 2026 |
| Partners Life | Partners Life Limited | A (Excellent) (A.M. Best, source, read 14 Aug 2026) | 5 Feb 2026 |
What Golden Insurance publishes
Golden Insurance does not publish a policy wording we can link from here. Ask for the wording before you apply: a brochure is not the contract.
Questions about Golden Insurance
Who is Golden Insurance?
An Australian-run brand (Neilson Financial Services) selling guaranteed-acceptance life cover to New Zealanders aged 40 to 80 by phone; the policy is issued by the New Zealand branch of Hallmark Life. The licensed entity behind the policies is Neilson Financial Services Pty Ltd (distributor and promoter, ABN 52 668 314 896).
Who owns Golden Insurance?
Neilson Financial Services Pty Ltd, Australia, part of the Neilson group (also Dignity Insurance, Direct Cover, Seniors Choice). Ownership matters because it decides who carries the risk behind a claim, not how a claim is assessed.
Is Golden Insurance financially strong?
We do not publish a grade for Golden Insurance because the effective date and outlook need confirming directly. The Reserve Bank register of licensed insurers is the primary source.
Can I buy Golden Insurance cover without an adviser?
Both routes exist. You can go direct, or use a licensed adviser who can put Golden Insurance next to the other insurers on the same set of details.
What does Golden Insurance cover?
Golden Life Insurance. What each of those pays, and what it excludes, is set by the policy wording rather than by the marketing page, which is why the documents are listed on this page with the date we read them.
Where can I read Golden Insurance's policy wording?
Golden Insurance does not publish a policy wording we can link. Ask for it before you apply: the wording is the contract.
Is Golden Insurance the cheapest?
No insurer is cheapest for everyone. Price depends on your age, your health and an underwriting decision that has not happened yet, so a comparison that leads with price compares the wrong thing. The published limits and definitions are what can be compared, and they are on this page.
How does Golden Insurance compare with the other insurers?
The financial strength table on this page puts every insurer we compare side by side, with the agency, the grade and the date. The benefit limits sit on the comparison page, and a licensed adviser can run your own details across the panel.
Does QuoteHub work with Golden Insurance?
No. Golden Insurance is not on the QuoteHub panel, so we cannot quote or arrange their cover. This page exists because the company is worth understanding if you hold one of their policies or are considering one, not because we sell it. The insurers we can place are published on the disclosure page.
What should I check before applying to Golden Insurance?
The stand-down period, the exclusions that apply to your own history, whether the premium is stepped or level, and what happens at renewal. All four are in the wording and none of them is in a price.
Does Golden Insurance cover pre-existing conditions?
Not automatically. An existing condition is either excluded, loaded or accepted on its own terms, and that decision is made at underwriting on your own history. What matters is what you disclose, because non-disclosure is the most common reason a claim is declined.
Are Golden Insurance premiums stepped or level?
Both structures exist in the New Zealand market. Stepped rises with your age each year and costs less at the start; level holds a rate to a chosen age and costs more early and less later. Which is cheaper over the life of the policy depends on how long you keep it, not on the insurer.
Can I move to Golden Insurance from another insurer?
Yes, but moving means new underwriting, so anything that has happened to your health since you took the old policy is assessed again. Never cancel the old cover until the new policy is issued and you have read what it excludes.
Does Golden Insurance pay claims quickly?
Claims-paid percentages and payment times are published by some New Zealand insurers and not by others, on different bases, which is why we publish the figure only where the insurer publishes it with a period. Where we hold one it appears on the review page for that insurer.
Is Golden Insurance regulated in New Zealand?
Yes. A licensed insurer is regulated by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, and the advice about a policy is regulated separately by the Financial Markets Authority. Those are two different licences and both matter.
What happens to my Golden Insurance policy if the company is sold?
A policy is a contract with the licensed entity, so it continues on its terms if ownership changes. New Zealand has seen several life books change hands, and the practical effect for existing policyholders is usually the servicing brand rather than the cover.
How much does Golden Insurance cover cost?
We do not publish a price for an insurer on this page. A premium depends on age, health, smoking status, occupation, the cover amount and an underwriting decision, so a single figure would be wrong for almost everyone reading it.
Where can I get advice about Golden Insurance?
A licensed financial adviser can compare it against the rest of the panel on your own details and tell you where it suits you and where it does not. QuoteHub is a trading name of a licensed Financial Advice Provider and the review is free.
How do I make a complaint about Golden Insurance?
Raise it with the insurer first. If it is not resolved you can take it to the insurer's dispute resolution scheme at no cost. QuoteHub's own scheme is the Financial Dispute Resolution Service.
Where to go next
Other life insurers
- Partners Life
- AIA New Zealand
- Chubb Life NZ
- Fidelity Life
- Asteron Life
- Momentum Life
- Southern Cross Life
- Pinnacle Life
- OneChoice
- AA Life
- Resolution Life NZ
- NZ Seniors
- Booster Life
- MAS
Health insurers
Compare and calculate
- Compare NZ insurers side by side
- Life insurance calculator
- Every insurer financial strength rating
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Cover explained
- Life insurance in New Zealand
- Trauma cover in New Zealand
- Income protection in New Zealand
- Mortgage protection in New Zealand
What cover costs
- What life insurance costs in NZ
- Stepped versus level premiums
- The insurers ranked on what they publish
- Every published insurance number, with its source
Explore related pages: Life Insurance, Income Protection, Health Insurance, Trauma Insurance, For Brokers.