FAQs

Final expenses insurance is essentially a type of funeral insurance, which can help go towards your funeral and other end of life costs. You nominate how much money you would like your beneficiaries to receive, pay in a regular premium and when you pass away your beneficiaries are paid the nominated amount.

Funeral insurance is a smart way to ensure that any final expenses related to you passing away are taken care of, alleviating your family from the financial burden. These expenses could include paying for your funeral or paying off any unpaid debts like credit cards.

A small benefit of funeral insurance is that you pay a small regular amount (the premium), and the full benefit is paid in the event of death, regardless of how much money has been paid in. Cover is for Accidental Death only in the first 12 months, then death by any cause thereafter.

You will need to work out what type of funeral insurance plan you need (either a single plan or family plan), and how much cover you will need for any final expenses that your family may need to cover. A lump sum payment will be made to the beneficiary when either you or your partner/child dies and they are covered under the policy.

You will need to assess how much money will be required to cover any final expenses that your family may need to cover; the main expense will be the cost of your funeral (which can come in anywhere between $3,000 to $15,000); other final expenses could include unpaid debts, travel costs for your family to attend the funeral or to cover your family for any unpaid leave they may need to take at the time of your passing.

Your funeral cover will start as soon as your application has been accepted by the insurer that you choose to take out your policy with. Coverage is limited to accidental death for the first 12 months and full cover applies thereafter. Your first premium is deducted from the policy commencement date, which will be set out in the policy schedule.

You will need to check the Policy Disclosure Statement for the policy that you are looking to purchase, however as a guide, most policies offer cover whilst you are travelling overseas.

This will all depend on which policy you select. If you are selecting a policy from one of our direct insurance brands your premium will depend on the type of policy (age-based or fixed options).

If you select the age-based premium option, your premium rate will increase on each Policy Anniversary if the oldest Life Insured on the Policy is aged between 44 and 80. If the oldest Life Insured on the Policy is younger than 44, or older than 79, your premium rate won’t increase due to age.

If you choose the fixed premium rate option, your premium rate will be fixed at the rate you are paying at the commencement of your Policy.

Also with some policies available through the direct insurance brands, whichever premium option you choose, your Benefit Amount will automatically increase by 5% at each Policy anniversary with a corresponding increase in premium; this is designed to help your level of insurance keep pace with the cost of living. You can decline these automatic increases if you wish. Your premium will increase with any Benefit Amount increase that you request or accept.

When you purchase your policy you have a cooling off period, and so long as you cancel within this time you will get a full refund of the premium that you paid.

Because final expenses insurance is not a savings or investment plan, if either you or the insurer cancels your cover after the 30 day cooling off period, cover ends and no benefit is payable and there are no premium refunds.

This will depend on the insurer but there are single plans and family plans available. Family plans will generally cover yourself, your partner and any children you have until they reach the age of 21.

You will need to check the Policy Disclosure Statement for full details of exclusions of any policy that you are looking to purchase. Generally, however, you are only covered in the first 12 months for accidental death, after that time you will be covered for death from any cause including accidental death and sickness.

No, the benefit paid out for final expenses cover is generally a tax free payment. You should obtain your own tax advice to determine the tax impact of the policy.

You can apply to change the level of final expenses cover, as long as it is within the range of cover offered by the insurer.