You know that you want your family to be able to give you a dignified funeral when you pass away, so you’re sorted on the funeral cover front. Well done!
A funeral without financial strain is already a big help for your loved ones. But is it enough to provide just for your funeral without considering what happens after that? Or should you think about taking life insurance as well?
Funeral vs life cover
It’s easy to get confused about funeral cover and life cover. The major difference is that funeral cover is a smaller amount which is paid out quickly and designed to cover immediate expenses associated with a funeral.
Life cover on the other hand is designed to cover longer term expenses and is typically a larger amount, designed to provide for your loved ones once you are gone.
You can read more about the difference between funeral and life cover here.
When is funeral cover NOT enough?
If you have dependents who will have needs in the long term, funeral cover is unlikely to be enough. It will ensure that your family don’t go into debt to give you a funeral, but it won’t help them pay off the house, send the kids to school, or financially support them.
The easiest way to think about it is this; if your passing would have a financial implication on your loved ones and/or make it difficult for them to maintain the lifestyle that they have now, funeral cover is not sufficient.
MiWayLife’s life policy combines both funeral cover and life cover, ensuring that not only are your funeral expenses accounted for, but living expenses for your dependents are also taken care of. You can get a life insurance quote here.
When is funeral cover enough?
When you don’t have any dependents, any debts and don’t wish to leave any inheritance to your family, friends, or charities then funeral cover may be enough. This would mean that your funeral costs wouldn’t cause anyone any financial strain, but you also wouldn’t be able to leave any money to those that you care about or provide for them in the future.
Mostly, people in this situation are those who meet a large amount of criteria. Generally, they have retired, have a house and car paid off, and whose children, grandchildren and other extended family are able to financially provide for themselves and who don’t wish to leave any money to extended family members.
