When we’re among friends and family, we might crack a joke about how we envision our funeral but have you ever sat down to consider the cost? Most of us probably haven’t but you should know that, in South Africa, the cost of a funeral could range from R10 000 to as much as R150 000. Cremation alone ranges between R7 000 and R15 000. In short, passing away comes with a price tag. Fortunately, this is why funeral cover exists.

In short, funeral cover is a type of insurance policy that pays out a set amount to a nominated beneficiary after the passing of the insured person. This way, you could take out a funeral policy for yourself and nominate someone in your family as the beneficiary. Then, in the event of your passing, they would receive a payout to help them cover all the costs associated with giving you a dignified farewell.

Who can I take out funeral cover for?

In South Africa, you can take out funeral cover for yourself and your extended family members as well as anyone where you can prove you have an insurable interest, such as an employee. Insurable interest refers to the interest one person has in the life of another person. In the context of life insurance, it means that the policy owner must have a valid reason for purchasing a policy on the life of another person. The policy owner would have to prove that it’s in their best interest for the other person to be alive, either for monetary or emotional reasons.

Most people buy funeral cover for themselves and list a family member as the beneficiary. If you’re married, however, it could make sense to “bundle” your policy – meaning you could have your own cover and then add your spouse to that policy – as most insurers will give you a premium that would cost less than if you were to each have your own policies. For the record, nothing is stopping you from having multiple funeral cover policies in South Africa but, by law, each insurer can only pay out up to R100 000 per funeral policy. Still, you don’t want to be over-insured if you don’t have to be.

How is a funeral policy different to life insurance?

Don’t confuse a funeral policy with life insurance - they’re two different products. Life insurance pays out a lump sum in the event of the insured person’s passing to provide financial security for the long term. It can take anywhere from two weeks for a life insurance policy to pay out. Funeral cover, however, pays out within days. A funeral cover payout is typically much smaller in comparison to a life insurance payout as it’s only intended to help cover the cost of a dignified farewell as opposed to financially securing your loved ones for an extended period.

Get the best of both worlds with MiWayLife

When you buy life insurance from MiWayLife, you get to reap big benefits from our 4-in-1 policy. For one low monthly premium, you’ll receive comprehensive life insurance, a terminal illness benefit, accelerated funeral cover PLUS funeral cover for your spouse as well as your wider family members that can all be covered as additional insured lives on your policy.

Because our funeral benefit is accelerated, as in “fast”, it’ll pay out within 48 hours after we receive the required claim information. The benefit amount is set at 10% of the total available life cover and capped at R50 000. This means that if you had R400 000 in life cover with us, you’ll receive R40,000 in funeral cover.

But I already have a funeral policy – can I still get life insurance?

If you already have a funeral policy with another insurer, you can still get a life insurance policy from MiWayLife. As we’ve explained, no law in South Africa prevents you from having multiple funeral cover policies with different insurers. Our funeral benefit payout is made directly to your beneficiary as a lump sum, not to the funeral parlour. Your family can choose to use the payout to give you an incredible send off or simply keep it in their bank account for another rainy day.

Much like life insurance, funeral cover is an investment in peace of mind and, with the right cover in place, you can focus on what’s most important and that’s living life to the fullest.

Did You Know:

You can now take out funeral cover with us online in a few simple steps. No calls and no agents! Make sure to take care of those you love today by buying MiWayLife cover online.