When do funeral insurance premiums exceed the payout?
Funeral insurance premiums add up every year while the benefit stays fixed, so total premiums can end up larger than the sum paid. This calculator takes the premium from your own quote and shows the year the premiums you have paid in reach the benefit, what is paid in by the 89th birthday, and what the same money would reach if saved instead.
What a break-even year means for funeral insurance
A break-even year for funeral insurance is the point at which the premiums paid in equal the benefit. After it, the policy has cost more than it will pay, whenever the claim comes. Momentum Life’s Funeral Insurance charges a level premium each year until the 89th birthday, then none, and the cover continues for life. It pays a fixed benefit of $3,000 to $30,000 to people who took it out between 40 and 75, with no health questions. In the first 24 months it pays only for accidental death, and for any other death in that time the premiums are refunded. Momentum’s own wording says the total premiums could exceed the benefit and that the benefit may not cover the cost of a funeral. It is insurance, not a savings plan or an investment, so a break-even year is a way to see what the certainty costs, not a return. You can get your own quote from the buttons on this page, then enter the premium below.
Enter the details from your quote
Three fields are required: your age when the cover starts, the premium on your quote and the benefit it is for. This page has no premium for any insurer in it and never fills one in for you, so every figure in the result comes from what you type. The savings rate is optional and starts at 0%.
Momentum Funeral Insurance accepts new applicants aged 40 to 75.
The amount you would pay each time, including any card fee if you would pay by card.
From $3,000 to $30,000. This is the amount paid for a death from any cause after the first 24 months.
Your own assumption, before tax. Leave blank for 0%, which is just the premiums added up.
Enter your age, the premium and the benefit above to see the break-even year. Until all three are in, nothing is estimated, and this page never fills a premium in for you.
How the calculation works
The yearly premium is the premium you entered multiplied by the payments in a year: 26 for fortnightly, 12 for monthly, 1 for annual. The break-even point is the benefit divided by the yearly premium, in years, added to your starting age. Premiums stop at the 89th birthday, so the most that can ever be paid in is the yearly premium multiplied by 89 minus your starting age. When that total is more than the benefit, the premiums do pass the benefit before they stop.
The worked example uses a placeholder, not a quote from any insurer. Take a $10,000 benefit and a yearly premium that is 6% of it, $600. Someone who starts at 60 pays for 29 years, $17,400 in all, which is 174% of the benefit. The premiums reach the benefit after 16.7 years, at age 76.7. A claim after that age pays out less than was paid in. The same person saving $600 a year at 0% reaches $10,000 in year 17, and keeps the money if no claim is made, but has nothing close to the benefit in the early years.
That last point is the real trade. Insurance pays the full benefit from month 25 for a death from any cause, and for an accident from the start. Saving builds the same amount slowly and leaves any unused balance to you or your estate. Which is better depends on how soon the money might be needed, whether you would really set it aside, and what else is available to pay for the funeral.
Break-even age by premium as a share of the benefit
If you would rather read your result from a table, divide your yearly premium by your benefit to get a share, find the nearest column, and read across from your starting age. The cell shows the age premiums paid in reach the benefit, or, where the premiums stop at 89 first, how much of the benefit had been paid in by then. These are shares, not prices: nothing here says what any insurer charges.
| Age at start | 2% a year | 3% a year | 4% a year | 5% a year | 6% a year | 8% a year | 10% a year | 15% a year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | Not by 89 (98% paid in) | Age 73.3 | Age 65 | Age 60 | Age 56.7 | Age 52.5 | Age 50 | Age 46.7 |
| 45 | Not by 89 (88% paid in) | Age 78.3 | Age 70 | Age 65 | Age 61.7 | Age 57.5 | Age 55 | Age 51.7 |
| 50 | Not by 89 (78% paid in) | Age 83.3 | Age 75 | Age 70 | Age 66.7 | Age 62.5 | Age 60 | Age 56.7 |
| 55 | Not by 89 (68% paid in) | Age 88.3 | Age 80 | Age 75 | Age 71.7 | Age 67.5 | Age 65 | Age 61.7 |
| 60 | Not by 89 (58% paid in) | Not by 89 (87% paid in) | Age 85 | Age 80 | Age 76.7 | Age 72.5 | Age 70 | Age 66.7 |
| 65 | Not by 89 (48% paid in) | Not by 89 (72% paid in) | Not by 89 (96% paid in) | Age 85 | Age 81.7 | Age 77.5 | Age 75 | Age 71.7 |
| 70 | Not by 89 (38% paid in) | Not by 89 (57% paid in) | Not by 89 (76% paid in) | Not by 89 (95% paid in) | Age 86.7 | Age 82.5 | Age 80 | Age 76.7 |
| 75 | Not by 89 (28% paid in) | Not by 89 (42% paid in) | Not by 89 (56% paid in) | Not by 89 (70% paid in) | Not by 89 (84% paid in) | Age 87.5 | Age 85 | Age 81.7 |
The same table sits on the funeral cover amount calculator
What happens if you stop paying
Under Momentum Life’s wording you can cancel at any time with 30 days’ notice, but you lose the benefit of the premiums already paid and would have to reapply to start again. There is a 30-day free look from the acceptance date: if no claim has been made, cancelling in that time returns the premiums in full. Momentum can also cancel the cover if a premium is unpaid for more than one month, after written notice. Reinstating is by application and is not guaranteed, and the wording does not say whether the 24-month window starts again (Momentum Life Funeral Insurance Policy Wording, issue date 17 August 2023). That is why a break-even age is only useful if you expect to keep paying; stopping part-way means the premiums bought only the cover for the years you paid.
Other ways to fund a funeral
Funeral insurance is not the only route. A set-aside savings account, a prepaid funeral plan and life insurance that releases a funeral advance all cost nothing in premiums or cost something different. The Work and Income Funeral Grant pays up to $2,697.43, is means-tested, and may not be payable where other help such as prepaid funeral cover is available (Work and Income: Funeral Grant). Read whether funeral insurance is worth it Momentum Life Funeral Cover page
Frequently asked questions
Is funeral insurance worth it if the premiums add up to more than the benefit?
That is the question the calculator is built to show, not answer. Funeral insurance trades a steady cost for a lump sum that arrives for the people left behind, whenever death happens after the first 24 months. Whether that is worth it depends on how soon the money may be needed, whether you would save it yourself and what else is available. It is a risk product, not an investment.
When do funeral insurance premiums stop?
With Momentum Life the premium is fixed each year until the 89th birthday, then payments end and the cover continues for life. Premiums can be changed for everyone on the same plan if tax law or claims experience changes, with at least 30 days’ written notice.
What happens to the premiums if I die in the first 24 months?
If the death is accidental and happens within 90 days of the accident, the benefit is paid at three times the amount chosen. For any other death in that time no benefit is paid and all premiums for that person are refunded.
Why does the calculator ask for my premium?
Because the premium depends on your age and the benefit, and QuoteHub does not publish an exact premium for any insurer. Your own quote gives the figure; the calculator does the arithmetic on it.
Does the tool include the card payment fee?
No. Momentum’s wording says an additional processing fee applies to card payments. Enter the amount you would actually pay each time if you want it counted.
References
- Momentum Life: Funeral Insurance Policy Wording (PDF, issue date 17 August 2023) (retrieved 17 October 2026)
- Momentum Life: Financial Strength (retrieved 17 October 2026)
- Work and Income: Funeral Grant (retrieved 20 October 2026)
- FDANZ: 2026 New Zealand Funeral Industry Trends Report (PDF) (retrieved 9 September 2026)
This page is general information, not personalised financial advice. QuoteHub is a Momentum Life partner, and Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver may receive a commission if you buy; our how we are paid page explains it. 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. Figures reviewed 20 Oct 2026.
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