Nominating a Beneficiary for Your Funeral Cover Policy? Here’s What to Keep in Mind

The funeral costs following the death of a friend or family member are twofold: financial cost and emotional cost. Funerals often comprised of hidden expenses, and the thought of leaving your family caught out in what’s already a time of heartache, can be too much to bear. Whilst work and income policy in NZ by the govt can offer some support and assign a funeral grant of up to $5,880; this often doesn’t scratch the surface when you take into account the cost of flowers, coffins, headstones, celebrants, death notices and all the other things that come along with organizing a funeral. More and more NZ citizens are looking to funeral cover to reduce the financial strain on families in the event of their death, with many policies offering affordable premiums that promise to pay out within 48 hours of making a claim.

Funeral cover plans are just the one-way out to make things easier for family and friends when it comes to arranging the funeral of a loved one. Funeral cover plans assist you to ensure things are looked after carefully until the legal requirements on your estate are completed, making those immediate bills for your family just that little bit easier to pay, without having the stress and strain of formal – and often uncomfortable – conversations about money so soon after an emotional loss. Once you have got the funeral cover of your choice sorted, it’s time to think about who would be a good person to receive your funeral cover benefit upon your death.

The Concept of Nominated Beneficiary in Funeral Cover

A nominated beneficiary in a funeral cover is the name of the person you would like to receive your funeral cover benefit, which will be paid upon your death. You can choose more than one person to be your beneficiary, perhaps you would like to nominate all your children rather than just the one. That way the amount will be eventually distributed amongst them so they can share the load during what can be a very trying time.

Your nominated beneficiary for accessing funeral cover should be added to your Cigna funeral cover policy to make sure they are the ones receiving the funds. Otherwise, the sum will be paid out to the policy owner, and if that’s you then Cigna requires additional steps for a claimant to go through, causing delays in processing and delivering the payment.

It’s imperative to note that if your nominated beneficiary for funeral cover is deceased at the time Cigna pays the claim on your funeral cover, you would need to follow the same additional steps as above. So, remember to keep in touch and keep your records up to date with relevant names and contact details. It’s crucial to nominate a beneficiary on your Cigna funeral cover policy to avoid circumstances like this, which can be quite worrying for some, particularly if they’ve just lost someone close to them. Even if your Cigna funeral cover is a jointly owned policy; it’s still important to consider nominating a beneficiary for funeral cover.

How to Nominate a Beneficiary for Your Funeral Cover?

It’s easy to nominate your beneficiary when you first sign up for a funeral cover, that way you don’t have to worry about there being any complications when your policy is paid out. You can nominate a beneficiary by filling out the nominated beneficiary form and returning the same to the funeral cover agents.

If you already have existing funeral cover insurance, you can contact the customer care and they can either complete this for you over the phone or send you a nominated beneficiary form to complete in your own time. Whatever is easier for you; you’ll get the assistance for sure.

How to Put In a Claim for Funeral Cover?

If you are a nominated beneficiary and need to claim than you need to contact Funeral Insurance NZ for a funeral cover claim form, as soon as possible.

You will also need to include supporting documents with your claim form. Generally, this is going to be:

·         A death certificate

·         The funeral cover policy document

·         Proof of any nominated beneficiary’s identity

Once you return all this information to Funeral Insurance NZ, we will assess your claim and keep you updated on its progress.

Want to Know More About Funeral Cover?

Funeral Insurance NZ is available 24*7 to talk to you about a funeral cover and the claiming process. Our staffs can provide useful advice to handling a funeral cover policy and guidance around what conversations you should be having with family and friends upon taking out your funeral cover policy.

Call us today! Have questions? Feel free to ask us anytime!