Funeral Cover Rules in South Africa (2026)

These come from the Policyholder Protection Rules (PPR) and the Prudential Standards, as we checked them on 30 September 2026. The PPR funeral rules took effect on 1 October 2018. We could not confirm whether they have been amended since, so treat this as a guide and check your policy.

The sections below explain each one.

Prudential Standard GOI 7 sets the maximum funeral benefit at R100 000 per life insured, rising each year by the CPI inflation rate published by Statistics South Africa. In Joint Communication 7 of 2024 (6 November 2024), the FSCA and the Prudential Authority (PA) confirmed that GOI 7 currently sets that maximum.

There is no official current figure. As at 30 September 2026, neither the PA nor the FSCA publishes the inflation-adjusted cap. Only the R100 000 base is official. An actuary's blog (15 July 2026) calculated about R137 185 from 1 July 2025 and a provisional R141 700 from 1 July 2026. That is one person's calculation, not an official number, so do not treat it as a rule. Ask the insurer what limit it applies.

Per insurer, not per policy. The cap applies per life insured, per insurer, however many policies that person holds with that insurer. Riders count towards it in aggregate. Cover held with different insurers is not added together for this limit.

Microinsurance has its own limits. Under Prudential Standard GOM, a microinsurer's life cover is capped at R100 000 per life insured, also rising with inflation. A microinsurance policy may not have a contract term longer than 12 months. If a seller calls a product microinsurance, ask what that means for its term and renewal. In March 2024, the FSCA also published a notice that reportedly lets microinsurers use waiting periods of up to six months, in line with other insurers. We read that from a secondary source.

A waiting period is a time after the policy starts when a claim for a natural death is not paid. The rules allow waiting periods, but only within limits:

• Natural death: no longer than the shorter of one quarter of the policy term or six months.
• Accidental death: no waiting period may apply.
• Renewal: no waiting period may apply.
• Moving from another insurer: a new insurer may not impose a waiting period if you confirm that you had a policy with another insurer at least 31 days before the new one, for similar risks and the same lives, and that you had completed the waiting period on it.
• Suicide: a funeral policy may not exclude suicide for more than 12 months from the start of the policy.
• Pre-existing conditions: a funeral policy may not exclude these, except through the waiting period.
• Non-disclosure: the insurer may not decline a claim because you did not disclose information it did not specifically ask for before the policy started.

Adverts that promise no waiting period need reading with care. See funeral cover with no waiting period for what that phrase really means.

Grace period. If a premium is unpaid, the insurer must tell you within 15 days. For monthly or more frequent premiums, cover must stay in force for 15 days after the due date. For premiums paid at longer intervals, cover stays in force for one month. A policy term that lets the insurer decline a claim because a premium was paid late is void if you paid within the grace period. If someone dies during the grace period, a valid claim may be reduced only by the unpaid premium.

Reinstatement. If the insurer reinstates a policy that lapsed for non-payment, it must be on at least the same terms, with no new waiting period. A new policy with the same insurer within two months of a lapse also gets no new waiting period, except for any part of an earlier waiting period that had not finished.

Cooling-off. You may cancel a new policy within 31 days after receiving the required information, as long as no benefit has been paid or claimed and no insured event has happened.

For a funeral policy, the insurer must decide within two business days after it has received all the documents it requires. It must either authorise payment, decline the claim or dispute it. A disputed claim must then be decided, and paid or declined, within 14 further business days.

This is a deadline for the decision. The rule does not set a deadline for the payment itself, so do not rely on adverts that promise payment within a set number of hours. See how funeral cover payouts work for the documents usually asked for, and funeral cover claims and contact numbers for each insurer's claims line.

If a claim is declined, you have options. Read what to do if a funeral claim is declined and, if needed, complain to the National Financial Ombud, which is free.

Anyone selling funeral cover must be a licensed financial services provider (FSP) or its representative, and a licensed insurer must carry the risk. We found no special rule for sales through retailers, banks or airtime, so the same general rules apply there.

1. Check the FSP. Search the FSCA's list of authorised financial services providers at fsca.co.za/Entity-Persons-Search/?iframe_target=financial-services-providers. Check that the FSP number the seller gives you matches the name on the database. Older FSCA notices point to other search addresses that no longer work, so use the address above.
2. Check the insurer. The Prudential Authority publishes the list of licensed insurers at resbank.co.za/en/home/what-we-do/Prudentialregulation/insurers-list, with the insurer's name, class, type and number.
3. Ask the parlour who underwrites. A funeral parlour that sells cover needs a licensed insurer carrying the risk, and the parlour itself must be an authorised FSP. Parlours that only provide funeral services need no financial-sector authorisation.
4. Call the FSCA if unsure. Its toll-free number is 0800 110 443.

Running an insurance business without a licence is an offence, with a fine of up to R10 million. For red flags and your rights, see funeral cover scams and your rights.

The regulators' review. On 6 November 2024, the FSCA and the PA issued Joint Communication 7 of 2024, starting a joint project to review how funeral insurance is distributed. They said they were aware of many unlicensed entities, including funeral parlours, that self-underwrite policies and collect premiums unlawfully. The review has four pillars: the regulatory framework, help with compliance awareness and capability, supervision and enforcement, and customer empowerment. The regulators held consultation workshops with the industry between 27 June and 1 July 2025.

No draft standard yet. As at 30 September 2026, we found no draft conduct standard, discussion paper or dated deadline from this review. The FSCA's 2026 Three-Year Regulation Plan, published on 3 July 2026, reportedly plans no insurance-specific or FAIS-specific interventions for the next three years. Expect today's rules to apply for a while, and check again before relying on a change.

A private member's Bill. The Long-term Insurance Amendment Bill [B17-2026] has been introduced in the National Assembly and has had its first-reading debate (as reported in June and August 2026). It is a private member's Bill. It is not law and has no commencement date, so it changes nothing for your policy today.

Enforcement cases. The FSCA has acted against sellers of unlicensed cover:

• On 30 January 2025 it fined Hernell Funerals R4.4 million and debarred its owners for 5 and 10 years, for selling funeral cover without being authorised as an FSP or licensed as an insurer.
• In September 2025 it acted against four funeral firms that issued policies without licensed underwriters and had collected more than R67 million in premiums without the required licences. All four signed undertakings to comply.
• On 2 April 2026 it warned the public about Davids Community Funeral Services (Pty) Ltd, which it found was not authorised under the FAIS Act and may issue policies not underwritten by an authorised insurer.
• Its report for 2025/26 records 2 directives to funeral parlours conducting unregistered insurance business and 36 enforceable undertakings, with funeral-related cases dominating.

• Who is the licensed insurer, and what is the FSP number of the seller?
• What is the waiting period for natural death, and is it none for accidents?
• What is the cover amount for each person, and does it rise each year?
• What happens if I miss a payment, and how long is the grace period?
• Is this a normal funeral policy or microinsurance, and what is the term?
• Which documents will you need to pay a claim, and who do I call?

Compare answers in writing. For a checklist across insurers, see how to compare funeral cover.