Funeral cover waiting periods: What you need to know

Funeral cover is one of those debit orders you would prefer never to test. If a claim follows soon after the policy started, the start date and cause of death become important because a waiting period may affect whether the benefit is payable.

A waiting period is a set period after cover begins during which certain claims are not covered. It does not mean every type of death is treated the same way.

Natural causes and accidents are treated differently

South Africa’s Policyholder Protection Rules restrict funeral-policy waiting periods for death from natural causes, with six months as the maximum period permitted under the rule. The rules do not permit a waiting period for a death caused by an accident.

A suicide exclusion is separate from the natural-cause waiting period. Under the same rules, such an exclusion may not exceed 12 months from the policy’s inception date.

A waiting period does not mean the policy provides no protection during its first months. The cause of death changes how the claim is treated, which is why the wording in your policy schedule is worth reading properly before anyone needs to claim.

Changing policies does not always restart the clock

Switching insurers does not automatically mean you must serve a fresh waiting period. Where you had similar funeral cover for the same insured lives and completed the previous waiting period, the rules restrict the new insurer from imposing another one if the replacement requirements are met.

If the earlier waiting period was incomplete, the new insurer may impose only the unexpired portion where the requirements apply. A policy that is renewed also cannot receive a new waiting period simply because a new term begins.

The monthly premium is only one part of an insurance decision. Looking at premium and excess on other cover shows why claim terms need the same scrutiny as the debit order.

Is a lower insurance premium worth it when the excess is much higher?

Insurance price comparisons can become misleading when you focus on the premium and overlook the excess. Looking at both figures together gives you a much better idea of what the policy could cost you.

Flip the MarketLiz Thorne

Check the dates before your family needs the cover

Read the policy schedule for the commencement date, waiting period, insured lives and cause-of-death provisions. If you replaced an older funeral policy, retain proof of the previous cover and ask the new insurer to confirm in writing how any waiting period was treated.

A lapse also needs a closer look. The rules protect certain reinstated funeral policies from a fresh waiting period, while a new policy taken with the same insurer within two months of a lapse has specific protections depending on whether the original waiting period had been completed.

A funeral policy is bought for a future day nobody wants to plan around. Knowing the waiting period gives your family one less uncertainty if a claim follows soon after cover begins. The policy schedule is the most important document, not your memory of the sales pitch.