Funeral insurance should be evolving

If your policy is not evolving and doesn’t offer more than money for the funeral, you’re losing out!

Consumers are entitled to more value from insurance policies. They should receive more than a simple quid pro quo of a payout proportional to their premium. This applies to funeral policies too, says Felix Kagura, Head of Long-Term Insurance Propositions at Standard Bank.

“Insurers have both buying power and influence on suppliers. That is by virtue of the number of people they reach through their policies and the substantial investments they make with premiums,” says Mr Kagura.

“Responsible insurance companies can, therefore, ensure that their industry influence creates additional value for their policyholders, by making policies work harder. This can be in terms of improving the benefits of a particular cover, or improving the client’s lifestyle overall. In fact, these days the best funeral insurance does both.”

According to Mr Kagura, when shopping around for a funeral plan, cost should rightly be taken into consideration. However, consumers should also always ensure that their policy is evolving and that they are getting their monies worth. “One policy may appear to be cheaper than another, but the benefits may be far less”.

Policies Evolving to Offer More Benefits

“To get more for their money, consumers should look for funeral plans that offer benefits over-and-above the lump sum pay-out”, says Mr Kagura.

“Some examples available in the market include grocery benefits and airtime benefits. These can help families cope with the loss of income caused by the death of the main insured member.”

“Some companies also include day-to-day features and ‘living’ benefits in the form of emergency medical treatment and transport. Also the offer access to a comprehensive network of doctors, optometrists and dentists, as well as discounts to policyholders. That gives the policyholder dignity in life as well as in death”.

“Clearly, there is no reason for a low premium to limit a policyholder just to expenses for the funeral. Policyholders shouldn’t feel that just because they can only afford a small amount that they should not have benefits evolving beyond the costs of the funeral,” Mr Kagura says.

“A low premium should be the result of the astuteness of the insurer when using economies of scale to give policyholders dignity, not just in death but in all their living requirements”.

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All info was correct at time of publishing