Funeral Cover Waiting Periods Explained
We often see terms in the policy wording that we don’t clearly understand. A big misconception is the funeral cover waiting period.
This funeral cover waiting period is an industry standard. The idea behind the waiting period is not to cheat the consumer. It’s simply in place to protect the funeral cover provider. Because there are usually no medicals required, this 6 month waiting period is to protect the provider. Funeral service providers will usually give you the benefit of the doubt. This is why there will be no medicals required. You don’t have to look very far to find funeral cover with no medicals.
Why Does the Funeral Cover Waiting Period Exist?
If there is no waiting period, a lot of claims will arise from clients on their death beds. If there is no funeral cover waiting period, most people will wait until they get diagnosed with a critical illness before they apply. This will mean that the providers will have no security that you are healthy when you apply. This is an industry standard on most legit funeral plans.
When is the 6 Month Funeral Cover Waiting Period Relevant?
With funeral cover, the waiting period will usually be relevant for natural causes only. This means that you will still be covered for accidental death. Accidental death will usually be active from your very first premium. There will most likely be no waiting period for accidental death. As a matter of fact, most funeral policies will have additional benefits to make up for the natural cause waiting period. For example, providers like AVBOB will payout double if you die as a result of an accident.
Another reason why funeral cover providers need to protect themselves is AIDS/HIV. Because most decent funeral policies do NOT exclude AIDS, Cancer and other terminal illnesses, they need to protect their company. The funeral cover waiting period will most likely not affect you. As long as you take out the funeral policy while you are healthy.
Funeral Plans with NO Waiting Period.
This is a very interesting topic. From our experience, we have not yet found a quality funeral plan with no waiting period. We have, however, seen some prepaid options where you have no waiting period on your funeral plan. We always suggest to our clients to be very careful when looking at funeral policies with no waiting period. There are a lot of scams and fraud in the industry. This waiting period is very important for the funeral cover providers to function properly. If a company claims they have absolutely no waiting period, you must be very careful. If you find a funeral plan with no waiting period, be sure to read the fine print, and do your research before you commit to anything.
When to Take out a Funeral Plan
We suggest that you embrace the waiting period on your funeral plan. The providers are definitely not out there to get you with the clause. Be sure you take your funeral plan while you are healthy. This means that you will most likely pay your premiums for 6 months before you pass away of natural causes. Always remember that you will still have cover for accidents. This includes murder, car accidents, highjacking etc. You are never to young to die as a result of an accident. Getting funeral cover while you are healthy is the intelligent thing to do.
