Icebolethu Funeral Cover

Both ranges are service plans. Icebolethu provides the funeral itself, with a casket, a hearse, family cars, programs, set-up at the cemetery and at home, and a tent and chairs. The higher tiers add a better casket, more cars and more programs.

Care is the simpler range. Its benefits include airtime, a bus, a grave fee, a sympathy payout and groceries. Dignity adds livestock for the family and a full tombstone on top of the same kinds of benefits, so it costs more. Platinum is the top tier in each range, and Care Platinum is marked as the most popular plan.

The plan pages do not state a cash sum per life, so you cannot compare Icebolethu with a cash policy on payout alone. The plans table below shows every plan and its published premium.

• Icebolethu funeral cover is insured by RMA Life Assurance Company Limited, with Icebolethu as administrator and a registered FSP (FSP45714). (icebolethugroup.co.za)
• Cover is built from named plans (Care Silver/Gold/Platinum and Dignity Silver/Gold/Platinum) and starts from R125 pm for a single member on Care Silver; premiums vary by single member, single parent or family. (icebolethugroup.co.za)
• Icebolethu says it has over 200 branches and over 60 Boxer service outlets. (icebolethugroup.co.za)
• Report the death to Icebolethu within 6 months; claim documents are handed in at a branch, and Icebolethu says it responds within 48 hours of receiving the claim. (icebolethugroup.co.za (archived copy))
• If the deceased is at home, call Icebolethu immediately rather than another parlour, as other parlours will charge for removal and storage. (icebolethugroup.co.za (archived copy))
• Icebolethu says clients get a 10% cash back: 10% of premiums back if they do not claim over 5 years. (icebolethugroup.co.za)
• Premiums can be paid by debit order, EFT, direct deposit or at the tills of participating retailers, and online through a payments portal. (icebolethugroup.co.za)
• Icebolethu says it is a member of the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA). (icebolethugroup.co.za)

Plans as Icebolethu 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 Icebolethu lists:

• Care Silver Plan: iSave Rewards; 10% of premiums back if no claim over 5 years (cash back benefit, per page); digital death notice.
• Care Gold Plan: iSave Rewards; digital death notice.
• Care Platinum Plan (marked 'Most Popular'): iSave Rewards; digital death notice.

Sources: icebolethugroup.co.za/funeral-cover.

Checked on 30 September 2026 against Icebolethu's official website (some details from an archived copy of it, because the live site could not be read from our checks). Numbers change, so confirm on the linked page before you call. Icebolethu 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: icebolethugroup.co.za/contact, icebolethugroup.co.za (archived copy).

Icebolethu gives the entry age as 16 to 64 for the single member, single parent and family options. It does not publish a maximum age beyond that.

The funeral-cover page does not state a waiting period for natural death. The only six month waiting period printed there applies to a catering top-up. Ask Icebolethu for the waiting period on your plan in writing before you buy. South African rules cap a funeral waiting period at six months and do not allow one for accidental death. Our page on funeral cover with no waiting period explains more.

Icebolethu says you get 10% of your premiums back if you do not claim over 5 years. Check the terms before you count on this, because it only pays if nobody on the policy claims.

The accidental death top-up costs R55pm for a single member or R75pm for a couple. Icebolethu's own site is not consistent on what it pays: the price table says R15,000 and the overview text says R10 000. Ask which figure is on your policy schedule.

To apply, we found no online application on Icebolethu's pages. Use the contact form, the call centre on 086 000 7580, WhatsApp on 079 792 6827 or a branch, and ask for a written quote showing the plan, the members covered and the premium for each. Icebolethu says it has over 200 branches.

To claim, report the death to Icebolethu within 6 months. If the deceased is at home, call Icebolethu straight away rather than another parlour, because other parlours will charge for removal and storage.

Hand a completed claim form and these documents to a branch:

• a certified copy of the deceased's ID or birth certificate
• a certified copy of the main member's ID
• a certified copy of the Home Affairs death certificate
• the BI 1663 completed by the doctor who certified the death, or the BI 1680 from a headman or traditional leader
• for an unnatural death, a police report and a stamped accident or incident report with the case number
• the claimant's ID, and a marriage certificate or affidavit if the beneficiary is the spouse
• a bank statement of the principal member, or of the beneficiary if the deceased is the main member

Icebolethu says it will respond within 48 hours of receiving your claim, either asking for more information or telling you it is approved or declined. That is a decision time, not a payout time. The rules say an insurer must decide a funeral claim within 2 business days of receiving all documents.

Ask for the reason in writing. The usual causes are a late report, a claim inside a waiting period, unpaid premiums or missing documents. An insurer may not refuse a funeral claim because you did not disclose something it never asked about.

The archived claims page names Sanlam Developing Markets for complaints, but Icebolethu says RMA replaced its previous underwriter, so ask which address to use. You can also complain to the National Financial Ombud on 0860 800 900 or at nfosa.co.za. It is free, and complaints can be dismissed after three years. See our guide to funeral cover scams and your rights.

Icebolethu suits a family that wants one company to run the funeral and is comfortable using Icebolethu for the burial. It is a poorer fit if you want a cash payout to spend as you choose.

Compare with Two Mountains, AVBOB and how funeral cover payouts work before you decide.