Funeral cover for the over 50s

The advertising for over-50s funeral cover is effective because it is honest about the things it says and quiet about the things it does not. The monthly premium quoted is usually real. Acceptance without health questions is usually real. What is not mentioned is the shape of the cost over the following decades, or that a person of 52 in reasonable health can generally buy far more cover for the same money by answering some questions.

Fifty is not old in insurance terms. Most people in their early fifties are insurable, many at standard rates, and a loading for a manageable condition still usually produces better value than a non-underwritten policy. The assumption that underwritten cover is out of reach after 50 is the single most expensive assumption in this part of the market.

Where it is genuinely out of reach — significant health history, an earlier decline, or an age above the underwriting limits — funeral cover is a reasonable product bought for a reasonable reason. It just should not be the first thing tried.

1. 1Get a quote for a small level premium term life policy to age 80 or 85, with health questions answered honestly.
2. 2Get the funeral cover quote, and ask specifically for the premium at 70, 80 and 90.
3. 3Ask whether funeral premiums stop at any age, and whether total premiums are capped at the sum insured.
4. 4Ask about the initial period and what is paid if death occurs from illness during it.
5. 5Compare the total you would pay under each to age 85, alongside the sum insured each provides.
6. 6Check whether existing life cover you hold already includes a bereavement advance.

There is also a middle option people rarely consider: a small level term life policy to cover the funeral and immediate costs, combined with simply keeping some money accessible. The insurance handles the timing problem and the savings handle the rest, and neither costs more each year than the last.

These are the details that decide whether the cover does what you expected. Read them before you compare on price.

• Whether the quoted premium is stepped, and what it becomes at 70 and 80.
• Whether the policy caps total premiums or stops them at a stated age.
• The initial period and what it pays for a death from illness.
• Whether the sum insured is fixed or increases, and what happens to the premium if it increases.
• The maximum entry age and the maximum cover available.
• Whether you have actually tested underwritten cover, or assumed it was unavailable.

Every New Zealand insurer writes funeral insurance in new zealand to its own wording, and the words are where the money is. Two policies that look identical on price can pay very differently when it matters. Closing that gap is the entire job of an adviser.

• Most people in their fifties are insurable, and appetite for common conditions such as controlled blood pressure or cholesterol differs between insurers.
• Level premium term life to 80 or 85 is not offered by every insurer, and it changes the comparison substantially where it is available.
• An adviser can produce cumulative cost projections for both options, which is the comparison the advertising avoids.
• Where existing cover is in force, an adviser can check whether it already solves the problem the new policy is being sold to solve.

There are three ways to buy life cover in New Zealand, and they are not equivalent. You can buy direct from one insurer, which means you see one product range and one underwriting appetite. You can buy through your bank, which usually means a single insurer’s product sold under the bank’s brand, often with narrower definitions. Or you can go through an adviser, who quotes several insurers at once and is required to put your interests first.

The premium you pay is the same either way. Insurers build adviser commission into their pricing whether or not an adviser is involved, so going direct does not get you a discount — it just removes the person whose job is to argue your corner at application and at claim time.

• An adviser can see which insurer is currently taking your health history on standard terms, and which one will load or exclude it.
• An adviser can structure cover across two insurers if that produces a better outcome than putting everything with one.
• An adviser handles the underwriting back-and-forth, and is the person who chases the claim when a family is least able to.
• An adviser has to document why the recommendation suits you, which is a written record you can hold them to.

We are a referral service, not an insurer. We do not quote premiums and we do not sell policies. What we do is put you in front of one licensed New Zealand adviser who can compare the market properly.

1. 1

   You tell us what you are looking at

   The form takes about a minute. Nobody asks for your medical history on a web form — that conversation happens with the adviser, properly, and only once you have decided to proceed.

2. 2

   An adviser calls you

   A licensed New Zealand adviser talks through your situation: who depends on you, what you owe, what you already have in place, and what you are actually worried about.

3. 3

   They compare the market

   The adviser quotes across the major insurers, checks which of them will take your health history on the best terms, and puts the options side by side in writing.

4. 4

   You decide, in your own time

   There is no obligation and no cost to you. If the answer is that you already have enough cover, a good adviser will tell you that.