Funeral cover – a necessity?

ONE can come up with various, and mostly ridiculous, reasons why a funeral policy is not necessary.

Most of these reasons will not bear any fruit when one is suddenly confronted with the unexpected and untimely death of a loved one. Please don’t think that it only happens to other people. I can assure you that there will be a time that each and every person will be confronted by this unfortunate occurrence.

There are only two absolute certainties that are guaranteed to cross ones path at some stage or the other, and those are death and taxes. These two unfortunate events most of the times also tend to co-inside, but more about that in some future column when we will discuss estate planning.

Some people will argue that a funeral policy is unnecessary as they feel that the funeral costs can be paid via the estate. Sorry to disappoint, but that is really not a valid reason. We are all aware that the winding up of any estate certainly takes a while. In complications, it can take several years to wind up an estate. Do you honestly, for one moment, think that any funeral undertaker could survive if that is the case? I can assure you that no funeral undertaker can afford to be paid for its services only after the estate had been wound-up. It is the norm that full payment of the funeral costs are payable before your loved one can be laid to rest in a dignified manner.

Another “valid” reason why people argue that a funeral policy is not necessary, is that the person claims to have an abundance of life insurance. Surely that sounds like an excellent reason not to be concerned about funeral cover. Talking from experience, it can take several months for the proceeds of a life cover policy to be paid out to a beneficiary or into the deceased’s estate. On the other hand, a funeral policy after the claim form and other required documents had been received by the insurance company. I have experienced that a funeral policy in fact paid out within four hours after lodging of the claim. This obviously would bring massive relief to the bereaved family being enabled to pay the funeral costs without any difficulty. A funeral policy would prevent the bereaved family from having to run from pillar to post to either borrow the funds from a financial institution or to go to friends and family members to ask for donations or loans to bury the deceased. No person should have to be humiliated in such manner. I am sure that it will be agreed that funeral cover should be an integral part of any comprehensive financial plan.

For complete peace of mind and comprehensive financial advice, feel free to phone my office number, (087) 805-7712, for a confidential appointment as well as the re-assurance that your personal requirements are prioritised and respected. We are conveniently situated at 20