Capitec urges clients to check funeral cover limits across multiple policies

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Around 75% of all South African households hold some form of it. Take funeral cover out of the picture, and only 19% of citizens have any insurance at all.

Although funeral cover remains important in providing for a funeral, life cover provides a financial safety net beyond the day of the funeral.

Understanding how much funeral cover you have, who is covered and what your policies will actually pay, is important. If you have multiple funeral policies, or you have covered the same person on multiple policies, you could end up paying more cover than can ultimately be paid out. This is known as being overinsured.

Simply put, you may be overinsured when the total cover you have on a person is higher than the maximum amount that can be paid out.

Important: This cap applies to you as an individual policyholder, not to your whole family. So, if you and your sibling each take out your own separate policy on your mother, if the claim is valid, you can both claim in full, because you are two different policyholders.

Knowing your policy isn’t only about avoiding being overinsured. It may also help avoid uncertainty when it is time to claim. Sometimes a claim may take longer because the insurer needs additional information.

This could happen if documents are missing or unclear, if there are multiple claims relating to the same person, or if the relationship between the policyholder and the person covered needs to be confirmed.

That’s why getting the details right when you take out or update your policy matters.

For example, if someone you consider a parent isn’t your biological parent, don’t simply assume that they will automatically qualify for cover. It’s critical to confirm whether they can be covered and what information may be required.

A good place to start is reviewing the funeral cover you already have.

This is to make sure that the cover you’re paying for is the right amount of cover for your needs and that you understand what you can expect from it.

Funeral cover is there to provide financial support when your family needs it most. But more cover does not always mean better cover.

What matters is having cover that is appropriate for your needs, understanding what you’re paying for and knowing what to expect when it’s time to claim.

At Capitec, we believe informed clients are better equipped to make decisions about how they protect themselves and their families. Being properly informed is just as important as being properly insured.

Visit Capitec’s website to learn more about funeral cover and how to make informed decisions about your cover.