Momentum Life benefits: Quick Life and Funeral Insurance side by side

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.

Momentum Life sells two guaranteed-acceptance products that do different jobs. Funeral Insurance (ages 40 to 75) pays a fixed $3,000 to $30,000, but in the first 24 months only for accidental death. Quick Life (ages 18 to 65) pays $50,000 to $300,000, but excludes pre-existing conditions and suicide for the first 2 years.

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Life cover See your price Ages 18–65 · $50k–$300k Funeral cover See your price Ages 40–75 · $3k–$30k

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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.

The two products in one paragraph

Momentum Life is a New Zealand life insurer that issues both products itself. Funeral Insurance is a lump sum for people aged 40 to 75, chosen from $3,000 to $30,000, with premiums that stop at the 89th birthday while cover continues for life. Quick Life is life cover for people aged 18 to 65, chosen from $50,000 to $300,000, with premiums that rise each year until 75. Neither product asks health questions at application, and each restricts what it pays early on. In Funeral Insurance, the first 24 months pay only for an accident. In Quick Life, the first 2 years exclude pre-existing conditions and suicide. Neither accepts new applicants over 75. Momentum's financial strength rating is B (Fair) from A.M. Best, which Momentum's own table lists as "Vulnerable"; see what the rating means.

Side-by-side comparison

All rows are from Momentum's policy wordings (Funeral Insurance, issue date 17 August 2023; Quick Life, November 2025), retrieved 17 October 2026. Check the current wording before you apply.

	Funeral Insurance	Quick Life
What it is	A fixed lump sum paid on death	Life cover paid on death or terminal illness
Entry ages	40 to 75	18 to 65
Amount	$3,000 to $30,000 (cap of $30,000 per person across all Momentum funeral policies)	$50,000 to $300,000 at the start, rising 3% a year until 75 or a cap of $500,000 per person, whichever comes first, unless you opt out
Health questions	None	None (Momentum's website adds a rule for people diagnosed with a terminal illness, below)
First window	24 months: pays only if death is the direct result of an accident and happens within 90 days of it	2 years: accidental death and new conditions are covered; pre-existing conditions, suicide and intentional self-harm are excluded
If the person dies in that window	Other than by accident: no benefit, and all premiums for that person are refunded	Of a pre-existing condition: no benefit, and premiums are refunded if no claim is payable. No refund is stated for suicide
Accidental death	Pays 3 times the benefit ($9,000 to $90,000), at any time	Covered from the start, at the benefit amount in the schedule
After the window	Death from any cause	Death from any cause, including pre-existing conditions, except specific conditions listed as permanent exclusions in your policy schedule
Terminal illness	No benefit	Yes: illness expected to lead to death within 12 months, confirmed by a practitioner Momentum approves
Premium shape	Fixed each year until the 89th birthday, then none	Recalculated each anniversary and generally rises with age; fixed from 75
Can premiums change?	For all policies issued under the same offer, on at least 30 days' written notice, only for a change in tax or other law or claims experience significantly different from expected	Yes, on 30 days' notice, for tax or claims experience
Always excluded	Nothing equivalent listed in the wording	Alcohol or drug effects, war, insurrection, terrorism, criminal activity, dangerous job or pastime
Visa holders	Temporary work visa holders need 12 months continuously in NZ	Work visa holders need 6 months or more in NZ
30-day free look runs from	The acceptance date	The policy start date
Who can own a policy on someone else	Any "Relative" of the owner, which includes a parent or child	Parents or siblings, with each insured person's consent
At 75	Nothing in the wording changes at 75; premiums continue to the 89th birthday	$20,000 of the benefit becomes free; the owner can elect a free $20,000 funeral benefit or continue Quick Life with the free component

A 24-month window and a 2-year window are the same length. The difference is what each one covers.

Early cover: what each window actually pays

Take someone who dies of an illness 18 months after the policy starts.

Funeral Insurance pays nothing, because only accidental death is covered in the first 24 months. All premiums paid for that person are refunded.
Quick Life depends on the cause. If the illness is a pre-existing condition, no benefit is paid, and premiums are refunded if no claim is payable. If it is a new condition that arose after the policy started, the benefit is payable. Pre-existing includes anything treated or noticed in the 2 years before the start, symptoms even if undiagnosed, and named markers such as very high blood pressure, cholesterol over 7.0, a BMI over 40 or diabetes complications.

Now take someone who dies in an accident in month 6. Both products can pay, subject to their terms. Funeral Insurance pays three times the benefit where death happens within 90 days of the accident.

The windows restart in some situations. In Funeral Insurance, an increase in cover or an added person starts a new 24-month window for that increase or person. In Quick Life, a reinstated policy or a cancel-and-rejoin restarts the 2 years, and so does a manual increase (for the increase only). Funeral Insurance has no pre-existing-condition clause and no separate suicide clause, so the 24-month window is its only early restriction.

Exclusions that apply for the life of the policy

Funeral Insurance's wording lists no permanent exclusions, but accident is defined narrowly: unintentional, violent, external and visible, directly and solely causing death, and not self-inflicted.

Quick Life excludes, at any time, death or terminal illness caused by:

the effects of alcohol or drugs, unless a prescribed drug was taken exactly as instructed by a registered New Zealand doctor;
war or war-like activity, insurrection or terrorism;
criminal activity or illegal acts;
a dangerous job or pastime as the wording defines it, for example handling explosives or weapons, working 40 metres underwater, driving or riding faster than 130 km/h outside commercial flights, professional sport, or active armed-forces duty.

Quick Life does not ask your occupation or pastimes at application, but they can matter when a claim is made. For how this plays out elsewhere, see our page on funeral insurance exclusions.

Terminal illness

Only Quick Life has a terminal illness benefit. It is defined as an illness that, even with treatment, is expected to lead to death within 12 months, confirmed by a practitioner Momentum approves. Momentum can ask for an independent second opinion at its cost, and that opinion is final. Payment ends cover for that person. The 2-year pre-existing-condition rule applies to terminal illness as well as death.

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). That rule is on the website, not in the wording, so check it before you apply.

Premiums and the total you could pay

Both wordings warn that the premiums you pay can add up to more than the benefit. Funeral Insurance states that total premiums could exceed the benefit and that the benefit may not cover the cost of a funeral. Quick Life says the premiums paid might be more than the benefit paid out. Funeral Insurance is not a savings or investment plan, and setting money aside yourself is the other way to prepare. QuoteHub publishes no exact Momentum premium; it shows ranges only.

Because Quick Life premiums step up each year, the cost in later years is higher than in the first. The optional 3% yearly increase raises the premium as well. You can opt out of an increase in any year.

Which one answers which question

This is a map of the facts, not a recommendation.

If the person is	Momentum products open to them
18 to 39	Quick Life only
40 to 65	Both
66 to 75	Funeral Insurance only
Over 75	Neither accepts new applicants

A fixed sum of up to $30,000 towards final costs is the Funeral Insurance job. Life cover of $50,000 or more for dependants, debts or other needs is the Quick Life job. A healthy person can often get more cover for less through fully underwritten cover from a licensed adviser, and guaranteed acceptance mainly suits people who would be declined or heavily loaded elsewhere, or who want cover in place without questions. See what guaranteed acceptance means and what funeral insurance is, or the detail on Funeral Cover and Quick Life. Age rules are collected on the Momentum age limits page.

Making a claim

What a claim needs, and how each window affects it, is on the Momentum claims page. Momentum publishes no claims statistics, so we do not quote any.

Where to go next

The buttons on this page open Momentum Life's online application. QuoteHub is a Momentum Life partner and Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver may receive a commission if you buy a Momentum policy; see how we are paid. A licensed adviser can compare Momentum with other insurers on your own details. Back to the Momentum Life page.