Funeral Insurance Providers

You're already well aware of how important funeral insurance is, knowing that your loved ones don't need to worry about expensive funeral expenses when you pass away. Now it's time to find out which funeral insurance providers are available and who best suit your needs and those of your family.

Funeral insurance providers in Australia

Below is a list of the funeral insurance providers available in Australia.

If you're also considering taking out life insurance, you will find that many providers also include cover for funerals. This can often be an affordable and convenient alternative to having more than one insurance policy to worry about.

Compare policies from funeral insurance providers

Claims performance of funeral insurance providers

The table below shows claims and related dispute data for funeral insurance bought directly through an insurer in Australia in 2019.

Insurer	Claims accepted rate	Average claim time (months)	Disputes per 100,000 lives insured	Policy cancellation rate
Westpac	100%	0.7	26.5	3.8%
TAL	100%	0.6	6.4	7.5%
Swiss Re	96.2%	0.5	4.0	103.9%
Suncorp/Asteron	95.5%	0.6	14.2	6.3%
St Andrews	98.8%	1.1	0.0	9.3%
OnePath	100%	2.4	0.0	5.4%
NobleOak	100%	0.5	0.0	28.7%
Hannover Re	99.9%	0.7	6.9	10.7%
ClearView	98.2%	2.1	0.0	14.2%
AIA	100%	0.5	4.0	7.3%
Industry Average	99.3%	0.6	6.2	15.9%

^{*figures obtained from moneysmart.gov.au. The data covers 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2019.}

Tips for finding the best funeral insurance provider

The best funeral insurance providers will likely offer policies that have:

• Level premiums. This is when your premiums are fixed; they do not increase as you age, so they're more affordable in the long run.
• Good customer satisfaction. Have a look at funeral insurance reviews and how large their complaints history is.
• Guaranteed acceptance. You want an insurer that doesn't require medical tests when you apply; otherwise it can be quite costly.
• Discounts for multi-lives. Look for a funeral insurer that will give you discounts on your premiums when your spouse takes out a policy with the same insurer.
• Fast payment of the benefit. This payment is usually received within 24 hours, giving your family the financial capacity they need to give you the farewell you want.
• Claims process. Check the company's product disclosure statement (PDS) or website to find out what will be required of you in the event of a claim. Here you can find out how long it will take for your claims to be processed as well as the type of customer service it offers.

Traps to avoid from funeral insurance providers

Make sure you look out for these traps when choosing a funeral insurance provider:

• Uncapped premiums. Make sure the insurer you go with caps premiums. There's no point paying more than what the funeral will actually cost. If they don't cap premiums, make sure they have a guaranteed benefit. This will ensure you are reimbursed if you pay more in premiums than the funeral benefit you receive.
• Taking out funeral cover too early. There's often no point taking out funeral insurance when you're young as you may end up paying so much in premiums that the benefit wouldn't be worth it. In other words, you may have just saved for a funeral.
• Getting the right amount of cover. Most funeral insurance policies cover you for around $15,000 and cost around the same so make sure you don't end up taking out too much cover. You also don't want to end up being underinsured, and forcing your loved ones to fork out for the funeral, so do a little prep work before purchasing a policy.
• Specific exclusions. Many policies come with exclusions that apply at the beginning of your policy. For instance, you might not to be covered for the first 6 or 12 months of your policy if you die from an illness, suicide or self-inflicted injury.
• Stepped premiums. A stepped funeral insurance premium is when your premiums increase in price each year you hold the policy. It may start off cheaper than the alternative (level funeral insurance premiums) but they can become unaffordable in the long run. If you were forced to stop paying the premiums because they became too expensive, you'd be left without any cover and have wasted a lot of money.

Funeral Insurance providers

To help you choose a funeral insurance provider, here's a short overview of the available providers:

• 1300 Ezicover Funeral Insurance. 1300 provides funeral insurance to pay for the immediate costs of your funeral. Australian residents aged between 35 and 70 are able to get up to $15,000.
• American Express Ezicover Funeral Advantage. This policy is available to Australian citizens or Permanent Resident holders aged between 35 and 70. The minimum amount of cover you can apply for is $5,000 and the maximum is $15,000.
• Apia Funeral Insurance. Apia offers between $3,000 and $15,000 funeral cover. Payout is provided in a lump sum and is usually tax free. Payment is usually made within 24 hours and it also comes with 10% bonus cover after 5 years.
• Australian Seniors Funeral Insurance Top Cover. Between $3,000 and $15,000 funeral cover.
• Insuranceline Funeral Insurance. Available to Australian residents aged between 25 and 80. It comes with level premiums, an Early Payout Option, 10% Bonus Cover after 5 years and more.
• Let's Insure Funeral Insurance. Gives you a lump sum payment of up to $15,000, requires no health questions, medicals or blood tests and is available to Australian residents aged between 18 and 75. Premiums are also fixed.
• Medibank Funeral Insurance. Health members can get 10% off premiums, and you don't need to pay premiums from the age of 90. You can choose between $3,000 and $15,000 worth of cover.
• Real Guaranteed Funeral Insurance Flexi Plus. Real Funeral Insurance also provides between $3,000 and up to $15,000 worth of cover.
• Suncorp Funeral Insurance. Between $3,000 and $15,000 worth of cover, level premiums, a 10% bonus cover after 5 years, a 5% premium discount after 10 years, the option of receiving 120% of your benefit after your 85th birthday and an additional 5% discount when you add another adult to the same Funeral Insurance policy.
• Zurich Ezicover Funeral Insurance. Choose between $5,000 and $15,000 worth of cover. Zurich provides cover to any Australian citizens and Permanent Residents aged between 35 and 70.