When it comes to providing the means that your family needs to provide you with a good coffin and a regular burial without being put through monetary hardship because of it, Old Mutual Funeral Cover offers you several options, from a very basic plan to a top end one with many added features. Old Mutual funeral cover falls into three categories – Care Plans, Standard Funeral Plans, and Comprehensive Plus Funeral Plans.
Old Mutual Care Plans are the simplest and cheapest, costing the purchaser R40 or more per month in premiums (depending on the size of the benefits, your age, and so on), and featuring premiums that do not increase over time. The maximum benefit you can receive from the Care Plan is R20,000 towards your funeral.
The Care Plans do not provide any cash back over time, nor are extra benefits paid if you suffer an accidental death while protected by this insurance. There is no terminal illness benefit, but the plan is Zimele complaint, meaning it meets the standards decreed for fair charges and decent terms.
The Standard Funeral Plans from Old Mutual have a minimum monthly premium of R50, and offer several features not found in the very basic Care Plans. The maximum benefit paid by the plan is, again, R20,000. Premiums and benefits both increase by 5% annually as you continue to age and thus come closer to needing the funeral services that the plan insures against.
You gain a cash back benefit equal to 3 monthly payments every 5 years, assuming that you have been paying your premiums faithfully every month. There is no double accident coverage, though, making this plan less suited for those at high risk of accidental death than the Comprehensive Plus plan. Standard Funeral Plans are also Zimele compliant.
The Old Mutual Comprehensive Plus Funeral Plan pulls out all the stops on the benefits you can receive from it upon your death. The minimum monthly premium is a steep R70, but you get so many additional benefits that this plan is well worth it if you can afford it. At age 65, funeral insurance coverage becomes free for you. The maximum benefit is an impressive R30,000.
Premiums increase 7% annually, but benefits increase by a larger amount each year. Every 5 years, you receive cash back equal to 5 monthly payments, and if you are killed accidentally, twice the normal payout is made to your relatives. If you develop a terminal illness after being a purchaser of this insurance for ten years or more, then you will immediately receive half of the benefit amount.
All three Old Mutual Funeral Cover plans refund all paid premiums if you die within 6 months of enrolment. You can miss up to 6 monthly premiums without losing your coverage, once you have made the first half-year of payments. And finally, you may be able to restart your coverage even after your insurance has been cancelled.