Buying funeral cover often comes with a range of waiting periods. A waiting period is the duration of time during which you cannot claim for a pay-out.
The waiting period is there to protect the funeral cover provider from unfair claims. Funeral cover with no waiting period would mean that people would likely wait until the last minute to take it out. This wouldn’t make any financial sense to insurance providers. This clause has been designed to protect insurance providers from illegitimate claims.
Finding funeral cover with no waiting period will therefore be a very difficult task.
With most trusted insurance providers, the waiting period will only be for natural death. This means that if you or a covered family member dies from natural causes, the policy will not pay out. If you die as a result of an accident, this waiting period will not apply.
Generally, funeral cover providers will not usually offer funeral cover with no waiting period. If you do find such an insurance policy, it will most likely be of no or very little benefit to you.
When buying insurance, it’s important to speak to your insurer for extra clarity. There are no medical examinations required when you apply for this type of insurance, so funeral cover providers give you the benefit of the doubt. This is as much risk as they are willing to take.
Tips for buying funeral cover:
- Pay attention to the funeral cover provider’s track record and their transparency.
- Speak to family and friends to inform your decision. They may help advise you about reputable companies.
- Be careful of insurers who are not forthcoming with information and those who simply ignore your questions.
- You need to make sure that the funeral cover provider is financially stable and will afford to pay out when you claim.
- Do not agree to anything you do not understand. You should fully understand the terms of the funeral cover policy before you accept anything.
To Read more about funeral insurance, click here.
