We Read 14 Funeral Policies for the Waiting Period. Every One That States It Says Six Months.

Everyone who has bought funeral cover has been told about the waiting period, usually as one line in a brochure: "six months." It's also the part people are most likely to get wrong. It's easy to assume every policy works the same way, and to assume it starts and stops when you think it does.

So we went back through the policy documents behind 14 funeral plans sold to individuals and recorded exactly what each one says about waiting periods, and about what happens when you skip a premium. Two employer group schemes (AVBOB's) are in Vulo's data too, but you can't buy those yourself, so we left them out of the counts.

Six months is the floor, not the average

What the plan's documents say about natural death	Plans
Six-month waiting period	11
A shorter waiting period	0
No figure given	3

11 of the 14 state six months. None states anything shorter. The "3 months" that's sometimes advertised as a selling point does not appear in any of the individual plans we've recorded.

The three with no figure are Metropolitan, African Unity and Sanlam. That doesn't mean they have no waiting period. It means the documents we read don't state one for natural death, so you can't rely on it. Sanlam's own document says accidental death has none, and is silent on the rest. If you're looking at one of the three, get the waiting period in writing before you pay the first premium.

Accidental death: covered from day one, where stated

Eleven of the 14 say accidental death is covered immediately. The wording differs slightly, and the differences matter:

• 1Life: none, "once the first premium is received."
• Old Mutual: none. Cover starts "as soon as Old Mutual accepts the application."
• African Bank: the waiting period withholds benefits for death "other than Accidental Death," so accidents are covered from inception.
• Clientèle: "covered immediately," but an accident that happened before the policy started is excluded.

The waiting period exists to stop people buying cover the week someone falls ill. It isn't meant to leave you exposed to a road accident in month two, and on these plans it doesn't.

The suicide clause is where plans really differ

This is the one most people never read.

Plan	Suicide waiting period
1Life	12 months and 12 paid premiums
Clientèle (both plans)	12 months and 12 paid premiums
FNB	12 months
African Bank	12 months, and it also covers intentional self-inflicted injury or sickness
Old Mutual (all four plans)	6 months, same terms as natural death

Old Mutual's is the shortest we recorded. The others state twelve. Nine of the 14 plans state a suicide waiting period at all. Assupol and Capitec state a natural-death one but none for suicide in the documents we read, so the absence of a figure isn't proof of cover.

"12 months and 12 paid premiums" also means what it says. If you miss a payment in the first year, the clock can effectively be pushed back.

Old Mutual gives your premiums back

Old Mutual's four individual plans (EasiPlus, Care, Standard and Comprehensive+) share a feature none of the other plans in our data records. Under its Money Back Guarantee, if the insured person dies of natural causes inside the six-month window, Old Mutual pays back the premiums already received for the portion of cover it won't pay. Every other plan simply pays nothing.

It's a small thing until you need it.

Switching providers: not always a fresh start

The general rule is that a new policy means a new waiting period. Three providers state an exception:

• Capitec: the waiting period "may be waived in whole or in part" if you are switching from another licensed insurer whose waiting period you have completed.
• FNB: waived "only where the same waiting period has already been served with a licensed South African insurer you are switching from."
• Old Mutual: may be shortened if the plan replaces a funeral policy cancelled within the two months before you apply, but not on any increase in cover.

The catch is the same at all three. Keep the old policy running until the new one confirms in writing that your waiting period has been waived. If you cancel first and the waiver isn't granted, you have nothing.

Missing premiums can end cover faster than you think

The waiting period is one clock. The premium rules are another, and they're just as easy to miss.

• Clientèle: pays nothing for "death in a month where the premium is not received," and the policy ends on three consecutive missed premiums.
• African Bank: the policy lapses after three consecutive unpaid premiums, and any arrears are deducted from a claim.
• Metropolitan: the opposite approach. It allows up to six premium skips to keep the plan active, but only after the first premium has been paid.
• Capitec: if you voluntarily pause your policy, there is no cover during the pause, and claims arising in that period aren't valid.

A debit order that bounces during a tight month is the most common way a funeral policy fails. Where the plan is strict, that month can cost the whole benefit.

What we can't tell you

These are the policy documents as they stood when we recorded them (23 to 26 August 2026). Providers revise their terms, so check the current document before you buy. We only record what a provider's own document states. A blank in this post means the documents we read were silent, not that we assumed the answer.

How to compare waiting periods

1. Look for the natural-death figure in writing. If a quote or brochure doesn't state it, ask. Don't assume six months.
2. Check the suicide clause separately. It is often longer than the natural-death one, and it's frequently tied to paid premiums rather than just elapsed time.
3. Check who is covered from when. Old Mutual and 1Life apply the waiting period again to anyone added after the policy starts.
4. Read the lapse rule. Three missed premiums ends some plans; others let you skip.
5. Never cancel an existing policy until the new insurer confirms any waiver of the waiting period.

Compare funeral cover on Vulo →

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Sources. Each provider's own published policy documents, brochures and terms, recorded between 23 and 26 August 2026. The source for every plan is linked on its Vulo listing. Counts cover the 14 plans sold to individuals; AVBOB's two employer group schemes are excluded because they can't be bought directly. A waiting period marked "no figure given" means the documents we read did not state one.