The short answer
For a healthy non-smoking New Zealander, rough monthly starting points look like this: life cover from about $15–$22 at 30 for $500,000; health insurance from around $40–$70 at 30 rising steeply after 55; income protection commonly 1–3% of the annual income you are insuring; trauma cover sitting between life and income protection per dollar of benefit.
The four things that move your number most: age, smoking, the excess or wait period you choose, and which insurer you apply to.
Last reviewed 2026-07-30
Life cover
| Age | Cover | Typical monthly |
|---|---|---|
| 30 | $500,000 | $15 – $22 |
| 40 | $250,000 – $1m | $23 – $79 |
| 50 | $250,000 – $1m | $52 – $195 |
Indicative NZ market ranges compiled July 2026 from published comparison data (MoneyHub, Policywise, Quashed, QuoteHub). These are ranges, not quotes — your own price depends on age, health, smoking status, occupation, cover amount and the insurer.
Life cover is the cheapest protection per dollar in the market and the one where waiting costs the most, because premiums are set from your age at application. Full life cost breakdown →
The four levers
The price you are quoted is one insurer's opinion of you. It is not the market's.
Where the money is usually being wasted
- A wait period that is too short. Paying for a 4-week income protection stand-down when you have three months of savings and leave is money burnt every single month.
- A health excess that is too low. You are insuring the $800 event instead of the $50,000 one.
- Stepped premiums held for decades. Cheap at 30, brutal at 58 — and the increases are why so many people cancel right before the years they are most likely to claim.
- Never re-testing the market after a health change. Quitting smoking, losing weight, or resolving a condition can all move you to better terms, but only if someone re-applies for you.
- Everyday/extras modules on health cover. For many households the dental and optical module returns roughly what it costs, minus the insurer's margin.
Cover by cover
Life insurance cost by age
What $250k, $500k and $1m cost at 25, 35, 45, 55 and 65.
Health insurance cost by age
Why it rises so sharply after 55, and the excess trick.
Income protection cost
Priced as a percentage of income — and how the dials move it.
One thing a price table cannot tell you
Two policies at the same monthly premium can behave completely differently at claim time — the definitions of "cancer", "stroke" and "unable to work" are where the real product lives, and none of it appears in a price comparison. Cheapest is only meaningful once you have fixed what is being compared.
Common follow-up questions
Why is the same cover so much cheaper from one insurer?
Insurers price for the customers they want. One will be competitive on a 35-year-old office worker and uncompetitive on a 52-year-old builder; another is the reverse. They also differ on how they underwrite specific health conditions. This is why the same person can get quotes 30% apart in the same week, and why the "cheapest insurer" is a person-by-person answer rather than a brand.
Do premiums go up every year?
On stepped premiums, yes — they rise with your age, and the annual increases get steep in your 50s and 60s. On level premiums, the rate is fixed to a chosen age, so it does not step up with age (though insurers can still adjust rates across a whole product class). Which structure suits you depends mostly on how long you plan to hold the cover.
Does using an adviser cost more?
Not usually. Advisers in New Zealand are generally paid commission by the insurer, and the premium is typically the same whether you buy direct or through an adviser. What changes is who does the comparing, the underwriting negotiation and the claim. See adviser vs buying direct.
Keep reading
This page is general information about how insurance works in New Zealand. It is not regulated financial advice and it does not take your situation into account. For advice about your own cover, talk to a licensed financial adviser.