Funeral parlours in Bloemfontein: costs and how to choose

Tell Home Affairs about the death within 72 hours. The person who gives notice is a family member, or a representative the family appoints with a letter of authority. Home Affairs uses form DHA-1663 when a doctor issues the notice of death, and form DHA-1680 when the notice comes from another authority, such as a Traditional Authority.

No burial or cremation may take place until notice of death has been given and a burial order has been issued. The law counts cremation as burial for this purpose, so the same paperwork applies. An abridged death certificate is issued free on the day the death is registered.

If the death was not from natural causes, the police must be told first, and the body goes to a state mortuary until the post-mortem is done. Most parlours will help with the registration paperwork, so ask when you first phone.

• Get written, itemised quotes from two or three parlours, and compare them line by line.
• Confirm they can collect and bury where you need, including a rural Free State burial.
• Ask what is in the package and what is extra, such as the hearse, family cars, tent and chairs.
• View the coffin range before you agree.
• If the parlour sells funeral cover, ask which licensed insurer underwrites it and check the parlour's FSP number with the FSCA on 0800 110 443.
• Ask family, church and community for parlours they have used.

Cemetery fees in Bloemfontein are set by the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality. We have not verified a current Mangaung tariff, so we do not quote one. Phone the municipality's cemetery office, ask for the current burial fee, and ask whether residents and non-residents pay differently. Then compare every parlour quote in writing.

For a national benchmark only: 1Life, an insurer, estimates that a funeral costs R35 000 to R45 000 on average when a municipal burial plot is used, and more than R50 000 with a private memorial park. It puts an adult burial plot in a municipal facility at R2 000 to R11 000, depending on where the cemetery is and whether the deceased was a resident of the municipality.

Those are national estimates from one insurer. They are not Bloemfontein prices. Transport for a rural burial is a separate cost, so ask for it to be priced on its own line.

These are the chains whose own published information places them in the Free State or in every province. Confirm the nearest branch and the current price with the chain itself.

• Doves says it has a network of more than 160 branches across all nine provinces, which includes the Free State.
• Martin's Funerals says it has representation in all nine provinces, and its branch locator has listed a Bloemfontein branch with its own 24-hour number. Martin's branches are franchises, so service can differ from branch to branch.
• Icebolethu lists branches and Boxer service outlets in the Free State on its contact page, among several other provinces.

AVBOB publishes a national 24-hour funeral line, 0861 28 26 21, but we have no verified branch list for the Free State. Ask them where the nearest branch is. There are also many independent local parlours. We cannot verify them one by one, so use the checklist above.

Many Free State families bury in a village or town far from Bloemfontein. Before you agree to a quote, ask whether the parlour has buried in that specific area, how the transport is charged, and who arranges the grave and the tent on the day.

If the person is being brought to Bloemfontein from another province, ask whether the parlour works with a parlour there, what the combined cost is, and how long it takes. A written quote covering both ends avoids surprises.

Call the insurer or the parlour that sold the cover before you sign a quote. The claims number is on the policy schedule. Ask whether the plan pays cash or provides funeral services, and whether it only applies if that parlour conducts the funeral. Some parlour plans give services and not cash.

Every insurer sets its own document list, so ask for it when you phone. Old Mutual, for example, lists a copy of the Home Affairs death certificate, copies of the ID or passport of the deceased and of the beneficiary, and proof of a bank account that is not more than three months old. Clientele lists the DHA 1663 notice of death and certified copies of both IDs and the death certificate.

The rules say an insurer must decide on a funeral claim within two business days after it has received all the required documents. That is a deadline to decide, not a promise of payment on the same day. If a claim is declined or delayed, first ask the insurer to explain in writing. Then you can complain to the National Financial Ombud on 0860 800 900. The service is free, and you can complain in any official language.

Ask Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality about indigent (pauper) burial assistance for residents who qualify, and ask the parlour for its most basic burial option.

SASSA has no separate funeral grant. If the deceased received a grant and it was not withdrawn in the month of death, the family member who paid for the funeral can claim the unclaimed amount. You need the death certificate, both IDs, and the funeral invoice and receipt.

If the person was a government employee or pensioner, the GEPF pays a taxable funeral benefit of R20 000 for a member, pensioner or spouse, for deaths after 31 March 2024. Some families also belong to a burial society. Read what a burial society is before you rely on one, because informal societies carry risk.

• What is in the package, and what is extra?
• Can you bury where I need, and what is the transport cost?
• Is your funeral cover underwritten, and by which insurer?
• What is the waiting period and what is excluded?
• Can I have the quote in writing before I decide?