Assupol’s unique funeral benefit revolutionises with market-leading features

Nobody wants to talk about death but it is an inevitable part of life – and provision needs to be made for it. If your life insurance policy does not cover funeral arrangements, it’s important that you, as the breadwinner, make sure that you and your loved ones are protected against the financial burden of funeral expenses.

Planning ahead makes all the difference. And with Assupol’s new instantFuneral Plan, you can cover yourself and your family within minutes from your cellphone, tablet or computer. The product provides a benefit amount to cover the costs of a funeral when a life insured – the person for whom a death benefit is paid.

You can take out insurance on your own life or on the lives of others who are recognised by law as being worthy of insurance protection, or insurable interest, such as your spouse, children, parents and other family members. A friend, neighbour or work colleague would not qualify as insurable interest.

Policyholders can choose between the Single Plan or the Family Plan, which includes the main life insured, one spouse and any dependant children under the age of 21 years. The Paid-up Feature is a standard feature included in the Assupol instantFuneral Plan where the main life insured is younger than 55 at the start of the benefit. No medical tests or declarations of health are required.

instantFuneral Plan benefits start on the first day of the month in which the first monthly premium is due, and all claims are paid in full within 24 hours. Instant Accident Death benefit, however, starts immediately for all the lives on your policy (once you’ve applied successfully).

It’s important to note that a claim will not be paid out if the life insured’s death is caused or accelerated directly or indirectly by war, civil commotion or terrorist activity, or if the life insured dies while committing a criminal act. It will also not be paid if the life insured commits suicide within 12 months after the start of the policy benefits.

Optional extras

Once you have received an online quote and your policy document has been sent to you by email confirming your successful application, you can add On-Call Plus – an optional benefit that lets beneficiaries spend on goods and services in the days after a loved one has died.

The On-Call Plus benefit can be spent on instantGroceries, airtime, electricity and transport. The instantGroceries benefit was built with an entire infrastructure around it to deliver a seamless product to customers. Within minutes after a valid claim has been registered, the benefit is paid to the beneficiary’s cellphone, using USSD technology to send an electronic voucher or WiCode. This voucher can be used at all Boxer, Checkers, Pick n Pay and Shoprite stores countrywide.

The airtime and electricity benefits work in a similarly convenient way. Airtime across all mobile networks and pre-paid electricity meter vouchers are sent directly to the beneficiary’s cellphone.

The transport benefit allows for vehicle rental at discounted rates and a credit card is not needed. Alternatively, it can also be used to pay for fuel, train or taxi fare – in which case cash is paid into the beneficiary’s bank account.

The On-Call Plus benefit is flexible. Any of the four benefits can be used in any combination until the R2,500 benefit amount is depleted. The On-Call Plus benefit is available on new as well as existing Assupol funeral and life policies, and costs only R10 a month for each life insured.

“It is really exciting to now be able to offer our funeral benefits and innovative features to clients wherever they are and whenever they prefer,” says Jurie Nel, senior executive manager for product development at Assupol. “Beyond just funeral cover, we also have living benefits like our Cashback benefit. For most of the clients that took the instantFuneral Plan, it was their first Assupol Life policy, so we are really pleased to be able to reach these new clients.”

Other useful benefits also include Accidental Death, Assupol On-Call, Family Income, premium waivers and Cashback.

Visit the website for more information.

This article was paid for by Assupol.