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At a glance
Education costs, living and funeral expenses go up over the years. Your sums assured on your life and funeral cover policies may also need to increase to keep up with higher prices.
- Review your sums assured
- Work out how much cover you need
- Compare your actual sum assured to the appropriate cover amount
- Increase your cover if you need a higher sum assured
Annual education costs rose by 4.5% and living costs, such as meat, increased by 11.4% in October 2025. That’s a lot more you need to pay for tuition and food every year. And these are just two examples of how the cost of living has risen sharply for South African consumers. When the cost of your basics keeps increasing, it’s time to take a closer look at the sums assured on your funeral and life cover policies and make sure they are keeping up.
Why reviewing and increasing your sum assured is necessary
Your funeral cover should be enough to ensure a dignified send-off for you and your loved ones. Your life policy should also comfortably cover essential costs such as school fees, transport and basic living expenses.
These costs increase every year, so making sure your sum assured can still meet these needs is essential. Without adequate cover, your loved ones may need to use their savings or take on debt to pay for funeral expenses, struggle to afford quality education, or be unable to cover daily living costs.
A practical example:
Mr Mabaso took out R35 000 funeral cover several years ago. With this amount, he wanted to cover the costs of a burial plot in a private memorial park and a gathering for 60 family members and friends. When his loved ones come to plan the burial and celebrate the life of Mr Mabaso, they find his funeral costs are R47 000 because prices have increased. Either the family has to find the extra R12 000, potentially taking on debt, or scale down on the funeral, such as limiting numbers to 30.
Don’t let this happen to you.
Check that your sums assured have kept up with rising costs
Check your sums assured
Access your 1Life policy documents on our secure online policyholder portal or WhatsApp service centre. You can find the sums assured on your policy schedule.
Work out an appropriate sum assured for your and your family’s needs
Funeral policies: Decide what kind of funeral and service you would like and how much it could cost. For example, you may want a special coffin and to be buried in a particular place. You may want close family only at your gathering, or extended family members and friends, and you may want particular flowers on the coffin and at the service. Funeral parlours and undertakers will have a good idea of what these will cost. We track funeral expenses in this blog so you always have the latest figures on hand. And if you’re ready to plan your budget, this calculator breaks down all the costs you may need to consider.
Life cover policies: List what you want the payout to cover, such as education, food, housing and transport costs. You may also want your policy proceeds to pay off any debts such as a home loan and vehicle finance. You need to put a number to these needs, such as R150 000 for four years’ school fees. This blog walks you through how much cover you will need to work out an appropriate sum assured for your loved ones.
Your budget is a good place to start to work out how much cover you will need, as this will have details of current expenses and debts. You can also ask a financial adviser for help in working out the appropriate amount of cover.
Compare the amounts you need to the sum assured on your policy
Got enough? Well done! You can schedule a date next year for another review.
Not enough? Get a quote for an increased amount. You can log a query on the online policyholder portal. Your financial adviser can also assist, or you can contact a skilled 1Life Insurance consultant for help.
Your questions answered
Doesn’t my sum assured automatically increase with inflation?
It depends on your policy and the increase option you select.
Newer policies have an option where you can select an inflation-aligned increase in sums assured each year. You can check if you have this option on your policy documents. If your policy does not have an inflation-aligned increase, you can ask a skilled 1Life Insurance consultant if it can be added.
Older policies that did not offer this option are reviewed periodically and may be adjusted to keep up with inflation. We will email any details of increases in premiums and sums assured to you so keep your contact details current!
You can also request an increase in cover on your policy at any time.
How much will it cost to increase my cover?
Probably less than you think! It will cost only R66.84 extra a month for a 35-year-old male to increase his funeral cover from R30 000 to R50 000.
If a 35-year-old, non-smoker female increases her life cover from R500 000 to R700 000 she will pay an extra R113.99 a month.
Quotes are free, so always ask.
These quotes are for illustrative purposes only, actual premium amounts are risk-profile dependant.
Do I have to answer underwriting questions or take medical tests?
Funeral cover: no.
Life cover: You may need to answer some questions and take an HIV test, which can be done using a cheek swab at a local pharmacy. If your life cover policy has a Guaranteed Assurability Benefit you can increase your cover periodically up to a certain amount with only an HIV test.
Top tip: always answer any underwriting questions in as much detail as possible and disclose any health condition. If you don’t mention a serious health condition, claims may be declined.
Review your cover annually
This gives you peace of mind as you know you and your family are covered and can pay future expenses. Policy reviews are quick, you can access all your details online and we are always here to assist you with any queries.
Up to date policies change lives
Having enough cover removes a lot of the financial stress loved ones face when a family member passes. Pay-outs from life and funeral cover policies give loved ones the opportunity to grow their wealth and follow their dreams. Check your cover today to make sure your policy will change your family member’s lives.