Don’t Be The Guy Who Let Someone Else “Blow-Out” Their Credit Card, Just To Pick Up Your Funeral Tab

You know how the story goes, right?

A family member suddenly passes away, nobody has any spare money, so all eyes are on you now for the grand send-off! It’s uncomfortable, right? Suddenly you need to scratch around to find the bucks, whilst trying to conceal your bitter resentment that nobody had the foresight to make a provision for something as obvious as death.

But before you start hating on the recently departed, are you sure you are covered? Who is going to pick up your funeral tab? Or are you going to be “that guy”?

How do you know that you need funeral cover? Let’s start with that

If the two scenarios, below, are likely to play themselves out like a movie, your decision should already be made:

  • If your passing on is going to become someone else’s financial nightmare, you need funeral cover.
  • If a family member passes away and your bank balance is going to be hit harder than a Floyd Mayweather right hook, you need to take out funeral cover on their life.

Ok, if you are still on the fence about whether you need a funeral cover plan, don’t worry – after this article you will be armed to the teeth with rock solid information that you can use to confidently make a purchasing decision.

We’ve come up with 7 questions you need to ask yourself, so you can make a wise funeral cover decision:

1. Can I take out funeral cover for every single person in my entire family?

Not exactly. Our funeral policy will only allow you to cover yourself, your spouse, your kids and a few additional family members, like your parents and parents-in-law.

We don’t cover extended family members like grandparents (even though we love Grannies and Oupas). Our maximum entry age is capped at 65 (75 for parents and parents-in-law) and it’s also a good idea to note that we limit the number of kids on the policy to 8.

Oh, and remember that a “spouse” is limited to one person.

2. How much funeral cover can I apply for?

  • R100 000 for main member
  • R20 000 – R50 000 for your spouse
  • R20 000 – R50 000 for your parents and parents-in-law
  • R5 000 – R20 000 for children depending on their age. 

3. Do waiting periods apply?

We only have a few waiting periods:

  • You can only claim after a 4-month waiting period is up (from the policy commencement date).
  • A 12-month waiting period is in place for extended family members.
  • No waiting period is in place for accidental death, if the first policy premium has been collected.

4. How long is it going to take before you can expect a pay-out?

It’s a good question, because the reason you take out a funeral plan is to get quick access to cash in the unfortunate event that you or someone in your family passes away. Our pay-out turnaround time is 24 hours, provided the correct documentation is submitted to us. Those critical claim documents are going to include a death certificate, proof of banking and the applicable claim forms. Once all the documentation has been received, and we are satisfied with the claim (that will include making sure all the policy premiums have been paid), the monies will be released to you or a family member.

If we don’t pay-out within 24 hours, we will double your benefit pay-out. That is our promise to you!

5. Can you stipulate what the claim pay-out needs to be used for?

Nah, we can’t do that. When the money clears in your (or your beneficiary’s) bank account, you can do what you like with it. It’s pretty obvious that the premiums you’ve been paying have been earmarked for a funeral contingency and blowing the money on a quick boys’ weekend away is probably a decision you (or you as beneficiary) will regret, once the Skyy Vodka and cranberry juice “babelaas” dissipates.

6. Do I get any money out if I cancel the policy?

Nope.  A funeral plan is a pure risk insurance product, which means that the premium you are paying is being used to cover the risk of your passing away. It is not an investment policy, and therefore doesn’t hold a cash value. As long as you continue paying the premiums, your cover is in place. The moment you cancel the policy, or it lapses (as a result of premiums not being paid) your cover will be forfeited, and no claim will be paid out. Look, we all hit a couple of rough months along the way and occasionally a few of our debit orders might bounce, so make sure you give us a call if you run into any problems.

7. Are there any other benefits included?

Yip, we have a couple of cool benefits added to our policy:

  • If the main policy holder passes away, the rest of the insured lives will be covered for a further 6 months, without having to pay a premium.

Interested in a quote? Click here.

Until next time.
The Wise About Life team

One Comment

  • How much do I pay for this policy if I want the following people on it:
    myself
    my dad
    1 kid age 11 years old
    1 kid age 18 years old
    partner

    Also, do you do life cover? If yes, how much will it be to have me and my dad on life cover? He is 66 years old

    Reply

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