Metropolitan Funeral Cover: About Metropolitan
Metropolitan funeral cover is a product of Metropolitan Insurance. Founded in 1897 as African Homes Trust Inc., Metropolitan is one of the largest insurance providers in South Africa. In 2010 Metropolitan merged with Momentum Insurance to form the MMI Holdings Group, which is currently said to be the third largest insurer in South Africa. Under their CEO Nicolaas Kruger, MMI Holdings does business in South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and Swaziland.
Where is Metropolitan Located?
You can find the head offices of Metropolitan Insurance at the Parc du Cap Complex, Mispel Road, Bellville, Cape Town. The company also has a mailing address at P.O. Box 2212, Bellville, South Africa 7535.
Which Services Do Metropolitan Provide?
Metropolitan offer both savings and pension plans, as well as insurance products. On the insurance front they offer hospital insurance, plus Metropolitan Life Insurance and Metropolitan funeral cover.
Metropolitan Funeral Plan Options
There are two Metropolitan funeral cover options: the Metropolitan Family Funeral Plan and the FutureBuilder Comprehensive Family Funeral Plan. .
The Metropolitan Family Funeral Plan
The basic Metropolitan funeral cover option is called the Family Funeral Plan. The features of this plan are as follows:
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Funeral cover for up to R50,000;
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Option to cover yourself, your partner, an unlimited number of children, your parents and your parents in law, though all family members must be under the age of 75 when applying;
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Accidental death is covered immediately, though there is a waiting period of three months for natural death coverage and two years for suicide coverage;
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No medical exams required;
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After death of the main policy holder family coverage continues without the need to pay any further premiums.
The Metropolitan FutureBuilder Comprehensive Family Funeral Plan
The more advanced Metropolitan funeral cover option is the FutureBuilder Comprehensive Family Funeral Plan. The features of this option are:
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Coverage for up to R50,000;
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Option to cover yourself, your partner, unlimited children, your parents and parents in law, as well as up to nine extended family members (such as siblings);
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Accidental death is covered immediately, but there is a six month waiting period for natural death coverage and a two year waiting period for suicide coverage;
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No medical exams required;
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After the death or retirement of the main policy holder coverage continues for all family members with no further premiums needing to be paid;
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A Family Assistance Benefit gives help and advice on the moving of remains, cremation and funeral planning, legal matters and medical emergency services as well as trauma counselling;
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A CashBack Benefit rewards you with two premiums returned in cash if you pay all premiums on time and make no claims for the first year, after this you will get six premiums for every three years where you pay on time and make no claims;
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An optional Tombstone Benefit will pay an amount to cover the cost of a memorial (you can choose to receive this money when a claim is made or up to 18 months after);
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An optional iNkomo Benefit covers ceremonial requirements (such as livestock);
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An optional Survival Benefit will pay out when you reach the age of 65 (but you must be under 50 when applying);
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An optional Shopping Benefit will pay a shopping voucher to help cover the cost of groceries during the grieving period;
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An optional Automatic Inflation Benefit will help keep your coverage in line with inflation to make sure you get the amount of money that you need.
How are Customer Reviews for Metropolitan Funeral Cover?
We found a total of 147 reviews of Metropolitan Insurance on Hellopeter, the website that allows customers to review service providers. Of these reviews, 21 were positive and 126 were negative. The main cause of complaint seemed to be poor customer service and over-complicated claim procedures. Positive comments centred around fast claim fulfilment and speedy responses from customer service agents. In addition to the numbers, it is important to remember a couple of things: First, consumers are more likely to complain than to compliment in the insurance industry. Secondly, the reviews were for all of Metropolitan's services, not just for Metropolitan funeral cover, and there's the possibility that pension or savings customers have a different experience than the insurance customers do.
How User Friendly is the Metropolitan Funeral Cover Website?
Using the Metropolitan funeral cover website was extremely simple. The website is easy to navigate, and there's a brief overview of their policy options that links to more detailed descriptions where necessary. All in all, it was very easy to get a clear and understandable idea of what Metropolitan funeral cover was all about. Was there anything we didn't like? To be honest, not really. Metropolitan are a great example of how easy online insurance shopping can (and should) be.
Metropolitan Funeral Cover in Summary
There are two Metropolitan funeral cover options, a basic and an advanced plan, both of which allow you to cover family members in your policy. Thanks to an informative website, getting an idea of what a Metropolitan funeral cover policy will actually cover is easy. Consumer reviews are middling, though again, reviews were for all of Metropolitan's offerings, not just for their funeral plan service. With so many insurance companies these days offering specific funeral insurance coverage deciding which option to go for can be tough. We always recommend that you get at least a couple of Funeral insurance quotes from different companies before making your final choice, just to ensure that you're getting the coverage that you need at the price that's right for you.
* Disclaimer: We do not represent any of the companies, products and/or services reviewed, published or advertised on this website. Nor are we financial, health or insurance professionals or services provider. If you request a quote or purchase a product/service, it will not necessarily be given by the company reviewed on any specific page. Any decisions you make based on the information presented is at your own discretion and we advise that before doing so, you consult with the relevant professional.
Main subject: Metropolitan Funeral Cover