Funeral Cover for Extended Family

Insurers do not use one definition. Some treat parents and parents-in-law as a separate group from other relatives such as siblings, aunts, uncles and cousins. DStv's Individual Extended Funeral Cover, for example, names parents, uncles, aunts, grandparents, siblings, nephews, nieces and cousins aged 18 to 75. Liberty says people who are not blood relatives, such as a domestic worker or gardener, can be covered as extended family. Absa's Eyenu Nonke plan allows up to 10 extended family members at an additional premium.

Check the definition and the maximum number of lives before you promise cover to a relative.

This table shows what each insurer says about the size and ages of a family on one policy. Confirm the current limits with the insurer.

A family plan covers a main member and the people you add on one policy and one premium, and the premium reflects how many people are covered and their ages. Adding a relative to your policy is usually simpler than a separate policy for each person, though we cannot say it is always cheaper, because prices are quoted individually.

Some insurers publish per-person prices. Affinity says extended family can be added at R65 each. RFA's Cover 1 pays R10,000 and has a base premium of R60 that covers the main member, spouse and up to 6 children under 21. Relatives are added on top, priced by age:

The table shows how quickly the price rises with age. Ask each insurer for the price of every person you plan to add.

Every added life has an entry age limit, and older relatives cost more. As the table above shows, parents can join up to 84 or 85 at several insurers, while extended family limits are often lower, such as 79 at Assupol's Absolute Advantage plan and 75 or just under it at Absa, Hollard, Finchoice and DStv. Affinity accepts the main member from 18 to 75. Do not wait until a relative is unwell to add them, because a waiting period will apply. If an older relative is turned away by one insurer, another may accept them, so ask more than one.

The rules cap the waiting period for natural death at six months, and no waiting period may apply to accidental death. Ask each insurer when cover starts for a person you add later. Affinity, for example, says six months for natural death and six months on its extended family benefit, with no waiting period for accidental death once the first premium is received. Two Mountains says increases in cover carry a six-month waiting period on the additional amount.

If a relative already had cover with another insurer and served the waiting period, the new insurer may not impose another for similar risks on the same person. Insurers such as AVBOB and Capitec describe how they apply this if your earlier policy was active within 31 days.

Some plans are built for the household only. The plan sold at Pep covers the policyholder, a spouse and children, and parents and extended family cannot be added. Two Mountains lists its burial plans as service value for policyholders only. DStv's cover requires the policyholder to be a South African citizen and a DStv customer, and lives may not be older than 75 when the policy starts, and its Extended Family Funeral Cover allows no more than 2 extended family members older than 17. Icebolethu publishes prices for a single member, a single parent and a family, but its plan pages do not say how extended family is covered. Ask before you assume a relative can be added.

On a family policy the main member's death can leave the rest without a payer. Several insurers say what happens next. Capitec says other lives are covered for 6 months without premiums. OUTsurance says cover for everyone else continues for 3 months with no premiums after a valid claim is paid. Nedbank says premiums are waived for up to 24 months after the policyholder passes away. Assupol's Excellence Family plan has no premiums for 5 years after your death. 1Life has a continuation option under which the first spouse can take over the policy. Compare these benefits, because they decide whether the family keeps its cover.

Insure a sensible amount for each person instead of the maximum for everyone, and cover the people most likely to need it first. Then add others as your budget allows. If you miss a premium, the insurer must tell you within 15 days, and monthly cover stays in force for 15 days after the due date, so pay on time. Use our calculator worksheet to pick amounts and the comparison guide to shortlist insurers. A burial society may suit relatives an insurer will not take, see funeral policy vs burial society.