Old Mutual Funeral Cover: Company Bio
Old Mutual Funeral Cover is offered to customers by Old Mutual, which was founded over a century and a half ago. Partnering with two sister companies, Mutual and Federal and Nedbank, Old Mutual is one of the largest providers of financial services on the South African market. Old Mutual South Africa is currently headed by Ralph Mupita. However, Old Mutual Funeral Cover is available in Kenya, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Malawi and Swaziland as well as in South Africa.
The Head Offices for Old Mutual
The headquarters for Old Mutual, and therefore for Old Mutual Funeral Cover, can be found at 93 Grayston Drive, corner of West Road South, Sandton, Johannesburg, Gauteng. The company also has a Cape Town office at Mutualpark, Jan Smuts Drive, Pinelands, Cape Town, Western Cape.
Which Services do Old Mutual Offer?
As a large financial services provider, Old Mutual offers many services, which include both investment and retirement planning. Under the name iWYZE Old Mutual Insurance offers vehicle, household and householder's insurance, as well as Old Mutual life insurance which includes Old Mutual Funeral Cover.
Old Mutual Funeral Cover Options
Funeral cover is designed to provide financial security to beneficiaries who will need to pay funeral costs. According to the Old Mutual Funeral Cover website, the average funeral can cost anywhere from R7,000 to R30,000, which is obviously a large amount of money. Old Mutual Funeral Cover offers four options to help prepare for these expenses.
Greenlight Old Mutual Funeral Cover
The Old Mutual Funeral Cover Greenlight option offers the most coverage. The features of this policy are as follows:
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Pay out is in a lump sum (generally paid within 48 hours of a claim, according to the Old Mutual Funeral Cover website) and coverage is from R5,000 to R100,00;
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The policy has the option of adding your partner, natural or adopted children as well as up to four members of your extended family, including your parents;
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Premiums can be paid monthly or yearly;
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To keep pace with inflation, there is an annual premium increase, so your payments will go up each year;
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Every member attached to the policy must be sponsored by someone who already has an Old Mutual Greenlight policy;
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The policy includes access to a 24 hour helpline for advice on healthy living, bereavement, grief counselling, emergencies and legal issues.
Old Mutual Funeral Plan Range
The Old Mutual Funeral Plan Range has three policy options to choose from, Individual, Family or Parent. However, these policies are almost identical. They have the following features:
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Premium Holiday, meaning that you can miss up to six payments and still have coverage;
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Cash Back Benefit, meaning after sixty premium payments you will receive a cash back bonus, though the Old Mutual Funeral Cover website does not mention how much this is;
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Start Again Benefit, which allows you to restart a cancelled policy under certain conditions, though again the Old Mutual Funeral Cover website does not specify these conditions;
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Access to advice via telephone about health matters, legal matters and HIV exposure counselling as well as emergency medical response in case of accidents.
The only obvious difference between these three plans listed on the website is that the Individual and Parent policies have a maximum coverage of R10,000, whilst the Family policy has a maximum coverage of R5,000. Unfortunately, we could find no more information about what makes these policies different or which may be best for certain kinds of customers.
Old Mutual Pay When You Can
The Pay When You Can option from Old Mutual Funeral Cover is designed to be a simple, cost effective way of getting funeral cover. All payments can be made in cash, and no bank account is necessary. You pay a one time fee and get coverage for 14 months, with higher coverage costing a higher fee. Other important characteristics of this plan are:
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Coverage can include your partner and children up to the age of 21;
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There is the ability to add more coverage should you need it, up to a limit of R18,000;
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The policy is available to permanent South African residents between the ages of 18 and 65.
Old Mutual Burial Society Support Plan
Finally, Old Mutual Funeral Cover also offers an option for burial societies. However, this option will not be of interest to individual insurance shoppers, as it is designed to provide financial support for burial societies, churches, NGOs, clubs and co-ops. [Jag-Rec] [Jag-Sq]
How do the Consumer Reviews for Old Mutual Funeral Cover Look?
Hellopeter (a website dedicated to reviews given by customers on service providers) registered 1011 reviews of Old Mutual in the last twelve months. Of these, 796 were complaints, giving Old Mutual an overal 78% negative rating. The majority of the complaints concerned poor customer service and long waits for pay outs. It's important to mention though that not only did Old Mutual Representatives respond to nearly all the reviews (meaning they at least take online customer service seriously), but also that these reviews were for Old Mutual as a whole, not just for Old Mutual Funeral Cover policies.
How User Friendly is the Old Mutual Website?
In general terms the Old Mutual website was fairly user friendly. We found the website easy to navigate, and it was easy to find the Old 
Mutual Funeral Cover policies that we were interested in. Policies were also explained clearly, without too much technical language. One problem that we did have with the Old Mutual Funeral Cover section was that we weren't always sure about the difference between policies (especially the Old Mutual Funeral Range policies). We would like to see a little more information about which policy is suitable for which kind of customer. Adding to our confusion was the fact that the burial society support package was listed under personal plans, when it appears to be designed for clubs and societies rather than individuals.
Old Mutual Funeral Cover in Summary
Old Mutual Funeral Cover offers several different options for insurance shoppers, including a convenient 'Pay When You Can' option. Old Mutual's website was easy to use and quite informative, though differences between policies weren't always clear, which may make shopping more difficult. The customer reviews on Hellopeter were a bit concerning, but deciding which policy is right for you isn't just a question of looking at customer reviews, especially since those reviews were directed towards all the services offered by Old Mutual not just the company's funeral coverage. We suggest that you read about at least 2-3 companies, ask friends, and be sure to get at least 2 insurance quotes.
You can get up to 2 Free insurance quotes by filling the form on the top right.
* 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: Old Mutual Funeral Cover
