Life Insurance

Funeral insurance for pensioners: a practical guide

31 January 2025

Funeral insurance is a specific kind of insurance product designed to help protect your loved ones against the financial impact of funeral costs.

Suncorp offers funeral insurance to Australian residents aged 45 to 80 and provides your chosen beneficiary with a lump sum payment of $3,000-$15,000. This can be used to cover funeral costs including chapel or funeral service fees, burial or cremation expenses, hearse and flowers. This flexible cash payout can also be used to help settle your affairs, such as unpaid bills or outstanding debts.

Benefits of funeral insurance

Peace of mind

When money’s tight, it can be reassuring to know that your loved ones won’t be hit with funeral expenses at a difficult time.

Financial security

If you are living on the age pension, you may not have large sums of money just sitting around. Funeral costs in Australia can vary, but they generally start at around $4,000 for a basic cremation, up to $15,000 for a more elaborate burial. Funeral insurance allows you to plan ahead to cover those costs. Payouts are also generally tax-free.

Quick access to funds

For many of us, funerals come unexpectedly and bring big costs all at once. Funeral insurance offers a quick payout to your family – usually within 24 hours of a claim being approved.

Avoiding debt and financial strain on loved ones

The last thing you want your family to be thinking about when you pass away is how they’re going to pay for your funeral. Rather than forcing them to use their savings or go into debt, funeral insurance lets you make sure those costs are covered, taking the financial burden off the people you care about.

Key features to consider when choosing funeral cover

Cover amount

While individual insurers vary, cover amounts generally start from $3,000 and go up to $15,000. With Suncorp Funeral Insurance you can increase your cover amount to $25,000 once your policy is in place.

How much does funeral insurance cost?

The cost of funeral insurance will vary depending on your cover amount and age at the time you take out your cover. With Suncorp Funeral Insurance, cover starts from just $2.99¹ a week and doesn’t increase in line with your age.

Premium costs and payment options

Generally, you can choose to pay your premiums fortnightly, monthly or yearly. With Suncorp Funeral insurance, if you are able to pay yearly, you will only pay for 11 months, not 12.

Suncorp also has a range of discounts and options to reward our loyal customers:

10% Bonus cover After 5 years you get a loyalty bonus of 10% more cover at no extra cost.
Multi-life discount Receive a 5% discount on your premiums when you add another adult to your funeral insurance policy. This discount doesn’t apply to optional Accidental Death Cover.
Plus, with Suncorp’s Value Promise, if the premiums you’ve paid are more than your cover amount when you come to claim, you will always receive the higher amount as a payout.

You have two options to choose from:
100% option: The payout will be your cover amount or 100% of premiums paid – whichever is greater.
70% option: The payout will be your cover amount or 70% of premiums paid - whichever is greater.

The Value Promise does not apply to optional Accidental Death Cover.

Waiting periods and exclusions

For the first 12 months from policy commencement, many insurers will only cover you for Accidental Death. If you die from any other cause during the first 12 months, depending on your insurer, you may receive a benefit equal to the amount of premiums you’ve paid.

No funeral benefit will be payable for Accidental Death in the first 12 months if your death is directly or indirectly a result of:

an accident that happened before the policy start date,
a sickness, or
an intentional self-inflicted act.

For a full list of exclusions, terms and conditions, check the PDS.

After 12 months from policy commencement, any cause of death is covered.

Flexibility

With Suncorp funeral insurance you have the flexibility to make changes to your policy if your circumstances change, so you can continue to maintain your cover.

We also give you the flexibility that comes with optional extras, including:

Early payout option

You have the option to receive 120% of your benefit as a lump sum payment after your 85th birthday. (Please note, there are tax implications if you choose this option.)

Accidental Death Cover

This cover provides an additional payout if you die from an accident or within 6 months of an injury leading to your death. Cover amounts start at $1,000 and go up to $50,000, and will be paid on top of your funeral cover benefit.

Policy terms

You can apply for cover if you are aged 45-80 years. Once you take out a policy, there are no upper age limits - you are covered for as long as you continue to pay premiums.

Other ways to manage funeral expenses

Funeral insurance is a good option for covering funeral costs, providing quicker access to funds. However, it’s not the only option. Other choices include pre-paid funeral plans, funeral bonds, and life insurance, each with its own advantages and considerations.

Pre-paid funeral plans

This lets you plan and pay for your funeral upfront. Costs are fixed with this option and won’t rise with inflation, but may involve a large upfront deposit, and you are locked in with one funeral director.

Funeral bonds

This is a type of investment product that can only be used for funeral costs, and the funds can only be accessed after you die. Your investment grows over time, so if you die soon after taking out the bond, your investment may not cover your costs.

Life insurance

If you have life insurance, your loved ones may be able to use the benefit to pay for your funeral; however, funds may not be released as quickly as with funeral insurance.

How to apply for funeral cover

If you are thinking of taking out funeral insurance, here are a few things to consider before you start.

Check your eligibility

If you are aged 45-80 and you are an Australian or New Zealand citizen permanently living in Australia, you are eligible.

Consider your needs

What kind of funeral do you want? A simple cremation, or a burial with all the bells and whistles? Discussing your wishes with your loved ones can help you determine how much cover you need.

Shop around

Look for policies that offer a value promise (also known as a payout guarantee) to ensure your premiums don’t exceed your payout.

Applying for cover is easy: you can get a quick quote online or over the phone. If you meet eligibility requirements acceptance is guaranteed, with no medical or blood tests needed.

Making a claim: what you (and your family) need to know

Knowing what to do when it’s time to make a claim can help remove one layer of stress at a difficult time.

Hot tip: Keep your documents in a safe place

There are four steps to making a claim.

Call us Your beneficiary will need the policy number, plus the date and cause of death. We’ll ask some questions, then email a list of the information we need.
Gather your documents We’ll need:
- A copy of the death certificate, Medical Attendant’s Certificate or another document showing cause of death
- A copy of the deceased’s birth certificate, passport or other document showing their date of birth
- A document that shows proof of identity for the beneficiary or joint policy owner, and their relationship to the deceased
Assessment We’ll review the completed claim within 24 hours.
Payout Payment is usually made within one business day once the claim is accepted. The payout goes to the surviving policy owner or nominated beneficiaries. If there are no beneficiaries, it goes to your estate.

If you’re ready to take out Funeral Insurance or if you have any questions for our Suncorp Life Specialists, give Suncorp Life a call on 13 11 55. You can also get a quick quote online.

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SUNCORP LIFE INSURANCE

Suncorp Life Insurance products, other than in some circumstances the Redundancy Benefit, are issued by TAL Life Limited ABN 70 050 109 450 AFSL 237848 (TAL Life) which is part of the TAL Dai-ichi Life Australia Pty Limited ABN 97 150 070 483 group of companies (TAL). TAL companies are not part of the Suncorp Group. TAL Life uses the Suncorp brand under licence from the Suncorp Group. Redundancy Benefit provided on or before 31st March 2020 was issued by AAI Limited ABN 48 005 297 807 AFSL 230859 (AAI) which is part of the Suncorp Group. New Redundancy Benefit policies and renewals offered from 1st April 2020 are issued by TAL Life. The different entities of TAL and the Suncorp Group of companies are not responsible for, or liable in respect of, products and services provided by the other.

Any advice on this page in connection with the Life products is general in nature and is provided by Platform Ventures Pty Ltd ABN 35 626 745 177 AFS Representative Number 001266101 (PV). PV is part of the Suncorp Group and an authorised representative of TAL Direct Pty Limited ABN 39 084 666 017 AFSL 243260 (TAL Direct). General advice does not take into account your individual needs, objectives or financial situation. Before you decide to buy or to continue to hold a Life Product you must read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement. The Target Market Determination (TMD) for the product is also available.

TAL Life is proud to have adopted the Life Insurance Code of Practice (Code). The Code has been developed voluntarily by the Life Insurance industry to promote high standards of service to consumers, provide a benchmark of consistency within the industry, and establish a framework for professional behaviour and responsibilities.

^[1] For a customer aged 45, with a Suncorp Insurance Funeral Plan benefit amount of $3,000, and a 70% Value Promise.

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