Want to know more about Funeral Insurance? Read our funeral information sheet, and start the journey to gain peace of mind for you and your family.
Your funeral gives your family a chance to say goodbye. Funeral Insurance provides peace of mind, to know that your family has one less thing to worry about if you were to pass away. Funeral Insurance will be paid to your nominated beneficiary or estate to help cover the cost of your funeral.
There are different options available to pay for a funeral in Australia. We recognise that there are both advantages and disadvantages to Funeral Insurance compared to other non-insurance options, and each option may be appropriate for different people in different circumstances. We think it’s important that people get their own information and decide which option is right for them.
Many Australians just don’t have the money immediately available to pay for the cost of a loved one’s funeral and other related expenses. Taking out Funeral Insurance with Insuranceline is a way of helping to make sure your family won’t be left looking for funds at a tough time. Insuranceline provides the money fast, usually within 24 hours of receiving a valid and completed claim.
Insuranceline has a Funeral Insurance product that is simple and easy to understand.
Key features
The Insuranceline Value Promise means that at the time of a claim for the Funeral Insurance Benefit, we'll pay the Funeral Insurance Cover Amount, plus any Bonus Cover, or 100% of the premiums paid toward your Funeral Insurance cover—whichever is greater.
If you are looking for a lower cost option, you may choose 70% Value Promise so that at the time of a claim for the Funeral Insurance Benefit, we'll pay the greater of the Funeral Insurance Cover Amount, plus any Bonus Cover, or 70% of the premiums paid toward your Funeral Insurance cover.+
- Insuranceline Bonus Cover gives you 10% more Funeral Insurance Cover at no extra cost after 5 years.1
- The cost of cover does not increase each year with age. With Insuranceline, as long as you don’t make any changes to your cover, your premium won’t go up every year just because you get older.2
- The Early Payout Option gives you a choice after reaching age 85 of keeping your cover going and continuing to pay premiums for it, or of cashing it in early to receive an immediate payout of 120% of your average Funeral Insurance Cover Amount.3
- An unexpected, accidental death can place extra financial strain on a family. Accidental Death Cover can be added to your Funeral Insurance benefit and is designed to provide extra financial support.
Fast facts on our Funeral Insurance
- As at 30 June 2019, 295,588 lives are insured on our Funeral Insurance policies.
- $69,630,661 in Funeral Insurance claims were paid between 1 April 2018 and 30 June 2019.
- Based on a 5 year period of claims received (1 July 2014 - 30 June 2019), 30% of Funeral Insurance claims were paid within 5 years of the policy being taken out, paying an average of over $9,142.21 per claim.
- More than 70% of customers whose claims were paid between 1 April 2018 and 30 June 2019 claimed before they had paid in the equivalent cost of a funeral.
- Based on the claims paid between 1 April 2018 and 30 June 2019, even after 10 years, the average claim payout was 50% more than the cost of the premiums paid over that time.
- You have the benefit of a 30-day money back guarantee which means you can take out cover and if you change your mind or cancel the policy within 30 days, we’ll provide you a full refund.
Common Questions
What’s the difference between Funeral Insurance and funeral bonds/ pre-paid funerals?
Funeral savings plans, funeral bonds and pre-paid funerals are options for people able to afford the up-front payment—which can be as much as one-third of the value of the funeral being purchased.
The balance is then payable in instalments over a limited period of time. If a customer dies before the full amount has been paid or invested, the family may only get back what has been paid in.
Funeral Insurance spreads the cost of the cover over many years and means it’s not necessary for people to pay a large up-front investment to establish the policy.
With a Funeral Insurance policy, provided the premiums continue to be paid on time, payment of the full cover amount is guaranteed for Accidental Death in the first 12 months of cover, and for other causes of death after that time—no matter how much (or how little) a customer has paid in premiums. Exclusions may apply.
Can customers end up paying more in premiums than the benefit amount they get when they claim?
The Insuranceline Value Promise means that at the time of a claim for the Funeral Insurance Benefit, we'll pay the Funeral Insurance Cover Amount, plus any bonus cover, or 100% of the premiums paid toward your Funeral Insurance cover—whichever is greater.
If you are looking for a lower cost option, you may choose a 70% Value Promise so that at the time of a claim for the Funeral Insurance Benefit, we'll pay the greater of the Funeral Insurance Cover Amount, plus any Bonus Cover, or 70% of the premiums paid toward your Funeral Insurance cover.+
Why do premiums increase as a customer gets older? What are stepped premiums?
Insuranceline Funeral Insurance only offers level premiums. This means that the premium you pay when you first take out the policy is based on your age at the time you started the cover, and isn't recalculated every year to take account of your increasing age.2
Previously, as was the industry norm, premiums took into account the likelihood of a claim being made by age, so, as a customer got older, the cost of cover would start lower but increase (this is known as stepped premiums).
Level premiums means customers pay a little more at the outset of a policy, but premiums then don’t increase every year with the customer’s age. While level premiums can still increase, they'll still be based on your age at the time you started your policy, and no one is singled out for an increase.
Some of our customers over recent years have told us that the stepped increases can be difficult to manage at older ages. We're concerned about long term affordability for our customers, so Insuranceline has made level premiums the new standard.
What if customers can no longer afford their premiums?
To keep cover affordable, Insuranceline offers a number of options to our existing customers. We recommend if our customers are concerned about losing their cover that they contact us.
As Funeral Insurance is an insurance policy and not a savings product, if you don't keep your premium payments up to date, you may not get anything back—as is the case for many insurance policies. If you are worried about your ability to afford your premium, please call us and we will try to help find a way to ensure you can maintain your cover.
Contact us if you have any questions.
Important information
Cover under the Funeral Insurance Benefit is for Accidental Death only for the first 12 months of cover, including for any increases. Accidental Death has a special meaning in the PDS and some causes of death are excluded during this time—please refer to the PDS or call us for further details. After the first 12 months, the Funeral Insurance Benefit provides cover for all causes of death.
+ Highest payout is paid on receipt of a valid claim and is calculated on your Funeral Insurance Cover Amount or premiums paid toward your Funeral Insurance cover. Read more about the Insuranceline Value Promise in the PDS.
1 Changes you make to your cover will change the Bonus Cover amount. Bonus Cover is calculated on the fifth anniversary from the Cover Commencement Date. Each adult life insured will receive extra 10% of the average Funeral Insurance Cover Amount held during the previous five years.
2 The premiums may change if you make changes to your Policy or if the underlying premium rates are changed by us. However, you will never be singled out for a premium rate increase.
3 After the Policy Anniversary following a Life Insured reaching age 85, the Policy Owner can cash in the policy and receive a payout of 120% of the Life Insured’s average Funeral Insurance cover amount, excluding Bonus Cover, Accidental Death Cover. The Early Payout Option may affect entitlements to the age pension and other government benefits.
