Life Insurance

Life Insurance provides for those you leave behind.

It can help them pay the rent or mortgage, put food on the table and pay the bills or it can be used to invest in your children’s education or other things you want for your family by paying a lump sum to the policy owner in the event of your death.

Get a Quote Now
Life Cover pricing starts from $15.60 per month including a 10% online discount for the first year, and 10% healthy lifestyle discount
Product name

If you have Life Insurance with us we will pay a tax-free, lump sum to the owner of your policy if you die (or their estate if they have died too), or earlier if you’re diagnosed with a terminal illness.

If you already have Life Insurance with another Life Insurance company you can either:

  • apply for a new or replacement policy, if you like our new policy quote, or
  • apply to save 20% on your existing life insurance premiums through our Switch process.
How much cover have others asked for?

Downloads

The Basics

Getting a policy

  • By applying online, you’ll get a 10% discount for your first year, and you might also be eligible for further discounts.
  • If you’re accepted online (and 3 out of 4 people are) you’ll be covered by the end of the application process, that’s straight away, no waiting.
  • Choose the amount that’s right for you, from $50,000 to $2 million ($100,000 to $1.5 million online). Our calculator may help you decide what you need.
  • You have to be aged between 18 and 75 to get a policy. You can apply online if you are aged 20 to 69 and living in NZ, Australia, USA, Canada, UK, Ireland, Hong Kong or Singapore. If you are outside the online age range please contact us.
  • You can choose to add critical illness cover to your life policy. This provides you with a lump sum if you suffer from one of the specified conditions.
  • At the end of your application you might be offered extra cover, such as the option add 50% more cover for accidental death for just 20% more in premiums.
  • If you apply for a joint life policy, you will be eligible for a joint policy discount.
  • All of our policies have a 30 day free look period, so you can buy with confidence.

Once your policy is in place

  • You may be able to increase your Life Insurance by up to 50%, with no further questions asked if you apply during a special event such as a new or increased mortgage, becoming a parent, getting married or divorced.
  • Your cover and therefore your payments, will increase with inflation, but you can turn this off at any time.
  • You can decrease your cover or cancel your policy at any time without penalty.
  • You can choose how you pay – monthly, half yearly or annually and by direct debit, credit card, automatic payment or via internet banking.
  • If you have 2 or more Pinnacle Life policies paid by direct debit from one bank account, the second and subsequent policies will be discounted by $24 per year.
  • Your payments will increase each year as you get older.

When you need to claim on your policy

  • You will get a cash lump-sum payment, depending on the amount you cover you’ve selected of up to $625,000.
  • Your level of Life Insurance cover will reduce by the amount of the lump sum.
  • Your claim will be paid in New Zealand Dollars anywhere in the world, to the person who owns the policy.
  • Your policy will be reinsured by Hannover Life Re, one of the largest reinsurers of life insurance in the world.

When you need to claim on your policy

  • If you die you will get paid the lump-sum amount you chose when you took out your policy. This is tax-free.
  • If you’re diagnosed with a terminal illness and expect to live less than 6 -12 months (depending on your policy) you can have your lump-sum amount paid early.
  • Your Life Insurance doesn’t expire. As long as your payments are up-to date, your cover will continue until you die and we pay your claim.
  • The owner of your policy will receive the lump sum from your claim. It will be paid in NZ dollars, anywhere in the world.
  • Hannover Life Re, who are one of the largest re-insurers of life insurance in the world and are based in Australia, will reinsure your policy. So you can be reassured your claim will be paid.
Get a quote

FAQs

Can I make changes to my policy?

Yes you can make changes to your policy. We’ve got lots of details about making changes to your policies in our Customer Support Section. There you’ll find all the details around increasing and decreasing your cover, special event increases, changing the owner of your policy, making a claim and more.

Do I have to visit the doctor to apply for a life insurance policy or any other kind of policy?

Probably not – in fact less than 2% of customers who apply for cover need to visit a GP. Depending on your answers on the application form, we may require additional information from you or from your GP but this does not mean you have to visit them, we simply ask them to send us the relevant information from your medical file.

Occasionally we may require you to see your GP to have a medical exam or to have a blood test done, but if this is the case we will discuss it with you first.

Does it matter if I have other life cover policies?

No. You can have as many policies as you like with as many companies as you like. If you have life insurance elsewhere, you may wish to look at switching it to Pinnacle Life and saving 20% on your premiums.

If you receive income from other sources eg ACC or another government agency, this will be offset against your income protection payments. If you have an income protection product elsewhere already, we also suggest you talk to us before taking out another policy, as you may not be able to claim on both policies.

How much cover do I need?

We have a range of tools to help you work out the right amount of cover for your needs. See our calculator for an estimate, or find out what level of cover others of your age and gender have asked for. You can also see what other people planning for a similar future to you have looked at. To discuss our products, and what needs they meet, please contact us and we’d be happy to discuss this with you.

What’s the difference between mortgage cover and life cover?

Life and mortgage cover both pay out a lump sum amount in the event of death or diagnosis of terminal illness of the person insured. A terminal illness claim will be paid out if we accept medical evidence that the insured person has 12 months or less to live.

For a life cover policy we’ll pay the owner of the policy, for a mortgage cover policy we’ll pay the lending institution you nominated.

With a mortgage cover policy you will also be eligible for a 5% discount if you are taking out the policy within 3 months of getting your mortgage approved.

Why do I need critical illness cover?

If you are diagnosed with a critical illness this cover will pay you a tax free lump sum.Others have used it to pay bills while they aren’t able to work, help fund their treatment, get some extra help at home. It helps make your life easier while you are dealing with an illness.

Critical Illness covers you if you are diagnosed with any one of 24 different conditions. We also offer serious illness which covers you if in the event you are diagnosed with one of four conditions.

Why do I need life insurance?

Life Insurance provides for those you leave behind and helps them after you are gone. Having life insurance means that those around you at least have some peace of mind around making sure the mortgage and the bills are paid at a time when everything else can seem tough. A life insurance policy helps your family maintain their lifestyle if you become terminally ill or if you die unexpectedly.

Still unsure?

Still unsure?

We can show you what insurance people planning for a similar future have asked about.

Help me choose
Share this...
Close this box to continue ›

Hi, as a member of Chartered Accountants ANZ, you and your family are entitled to additional benefits when you buy cover from Pinnacle Life.

If you have your membership ID handy, please enter it below:


If you don’t have your membership ID, don’t worry, you will still get the additional benefits.

Close this box to continue ›
A notification message goes here.