Doves Funeral Cover

Doves Group is a funeral director and the intermediary that sells the cover. It is not the insurer. The funeral insurance is underwritten by African Unity Life Ltd, and the policy terms name DGH Financial Services as the administrator that claims are submitted to.

Doves also runs its own funeral services. Its website lists embalming, cremation and chapel facilities, repatriation of remains and help with funeral notices at most parlours.

Doves may suit a family that wants the policy and the funeral arranged through one company, and that lives near a branch. If you want to use another undertaker, ask Doves how the sum assured is paid out before you choose, because it is paid to your nominated beneficiary.

• Doves funeral insurance is underwritten by African Unity Life Ltd (FSP 8447), and Doves Group (FSP 40442) is the intermediary and funeral director. (doves.co.za)
• Doves runs a national network of more than 160 branches across all 9 provinces. (doves.co.za)
• The Doves Call Centre is 0861 025 500 and is the number shown for immediate help when someone passes away. (doves.co.za)
• Waiting period is 6 calendar months for natural or unnatural (non-accident, non-suicide) death; accidental death has none if the first premium is received; suicide is 12 months. (doves.co.za)
• Claims are paid within 48 hours after all documents are received, and should be lodged within 6 months of death with all documents in within 12 months. (doves.co.za)
• Premiums can be paid at any Doves branch, Pay@ store, Checkers or Shoprite store, or by debit order; a policy lapses once 2 premiums are outstanding after a 30-day grace period. (doves.co.za)
• Doves also provides repatriation of remains within South Africa and to Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique and Swaziland, plus embalming, cremation and chapel facilities at most parlours. (doves.co.za)

Plans as Doves describes them on its own website on 30 September 2026. Premiums depend on your age, the cover amount and who you add, so the published figures are examples, not quotes.

Extra benefits Doves lists:

• All Nations 12 (Gold, Cremation, Platinum, Classic, Executive, Cash): No medical test required; transportation of the deceased within SA borders.
• Burial Service Plan 35: No medical test required; transportation of the deceased within SA borders.
• Burial Service Plan 50: No medical test required; transportation of the deceased within SA borders.
• Supreme, Majesty and Royal Burial Plans: No medical test required; transportation of the deceased within SA borders.
• Cow Burial Plan (Lily, Tulip): No medical test required; transportation of the deceased within SA borders.
• Cremation Package A and B: No medical test required; transportation of the deceased within SA borders.
• Repatriation Package: No medical test required; transportation of the deceased within SA borders.

Sources: doves.co.za/index.aspx.

Every Doves plan page shows a sum assured. It also lists transport of the deceased within South Africa, and says no medical test is required. The plan pages do not list a coffin, hearse or service as included, so do not assume a full funeral is covered. Ask a branch what a funeral service costs and how it relates to your sum assured.

Two things on the plan pages are worth asking about. The plan called Burial Service Plan 50 shows R25 000, which is less than the R35 000 shown for Burial Service Plan 35. The Cow Burial Plan includes a cow benefit. Ask Doves to confirm the sum assured in writing for the exact plan you are offered.

Doves does not publish premiums. They depend on the plan and who is on it, so phone the call centre or visit a branch for a quote, and compare it with other providers on our funeral cover comparison page.

The Doves policy terms set a waiting period of 6 calendar months for natural or unnatural death, other than accident or suicide. There is no waiting period for accidental death once the first premium is received. Suicide has a waiting period of 12 months.

The law caps the waiting period for a natural death at six months, and no waiting period may apply to death from an accident. If you had a funeral policy with another insurer for at least 31 days before joining, and you had finished its waiting period, the new insurer may not impose a new one. Ask Doves about this if you are switching.

Doves says premiums can be paid at any Doves branch, at a Pay@ store, at Checkers or Shoprite, or by debit order. The policy lapses once two premiums are outstanding after a 30-day grace period. Under the regulator's rules, a lapsed policy that the insurer reinstates must carry no new waiting period. Keep proof of every payment.

The policy terms say the principal member must be 18 or older. The Cremation Packages add that the main member must be between 18 and 64 at entry.

Extended family can be added on the plans that allow it: parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, nephews, nieces and grandchildren. Doves does not publish entry ages for each plan, and they are set on the application form. Read that form before you sign.

For more on covering relatives beyond the immediate family, see funeral cover for extended family.

Checked on 30 September 2026 against Doves's official website. Numbers change, so confirm on the linked page before you call. Doves will never ask you to pay a claim fee or send money to a new bank account; if a caller does, hang up and phone the official number.

Sources: doves.co.za/index.aspx, doves.co.za/index.aspx, doves.co.za/...ts/zipFile/DovesTcsAndCs.pdf, doves.co.za/index.aspx, doves.co.za/index.aspx.

Doves asks for these documents with a claim:

• A certified copy of the claimant's ID.
• A certified copy of the beneficiary's ID.
• A certified copy of the original death certificate.
• A certified copy of the completed notice of death form, BI-1663 or BI-1680.
• The beneficiary's proof of bank account.
• A police report giving the cause of death, if the death was accidental or unnatural.
• For a newborn baby, a certified copy of the unabridged birth certificate.
• For a stillborn child, a medical report stamped by the medical institution, including the age of the fetus in weeks at birth.

Doves' policy terms say the claim benefit is paid within 48 hours after all documents are received, to the nominated beneficiary. A claim should be lodged within 6 months of the death, and all documents must be in within 12 months.

The regulator's rule is that the insurer must decide a funeral claim within two business days after it has every required document. Missing paperwork is what usually delays a claim, so gather the documents first. Our guide to how funeral cover payouts work explains the steps.

Ask Doves for the reason in writing. The main reasons funeral claims are declined are waiting periods, fraud and unpaid premiums, according to the industry body ASISA.

An insurer may not turn down a funeral claim because you did not disclose something it never asked you about before the policy started. A policy that lapsed for late payment may also have a grace period, so check the dates.

If you are not satisfied, you can complain to the National Financial Ombud on 0860 800 900 or at nfosa.co.za. The service is free to the person complaining. The Ombud may dismiss a complaint if three years or more have passed since you knew, or should have known, that you had cause to complain, so do not wait. Doves' policy terms give an insurer complaints address: [email protected].