Funeral Insurance FAQs

Funeral insurance is paid in the form of a lump sum benefit your family can use to pay immediate expenses, such as your funeral service or any outstanding debts you may have.

You choose a cover amount to suit you, and pay ongoing premium payments, usually fortnightly or monthly. In the event of a claim, your beneficiary will receive your cover amount.

Learn more about how funeral insurance works.

Yes, as long as your parents are Australian residents aged 40 to 79 you’re eligible to apply for Seniors Funeral Insurance.

As long as you’re an Australian resident aged 40 to 79 you’re eligible to apply for Seniors Funeral Insurance – and we guarantee we’ll accept you.

Seniors Funeral Insurance products are issued by:

Hannover Life Re of Australasia Ltd (Hannover)
ABN 37 062 395 484
Tower 1, Level 33, 100 Barangaroo Avenue
Sydney NSW 2000

Hannover is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hannover Re and is part of the Hannover Re Group worldwide.

Hannover Re Group is the third largest reinsurer in the world. The Group has a Standard and Poor’s Insurer Financial Strength of AA− (Very Strong), and has maintained this rating for a number of years.

The life insurance business of Hannover has been operating in the Australian market since 1958, so you know you’re backed by a company you can trust.

During the first year of your Seniors Funeral Insurance Policy, we’ll only pay a benefit for Accidental Death or Accidental Serious Injury. After that, we’ll pay the benefit for death by any cause. The Accidental Serious Injury component of the policy expires on the policy anniversary after your 75^th birthday and is also subject to some other exclusions where a claim arises in specified circumstances, such as arising from intentional self-inflicted bodily injury. Please refer to the Product Disclosure Statement for a full list of exclusions.

In most cases, funeral insurance premiums are not tax deductible. But there’s generally no tax on the benefits that you or your beneficiaries will receive.

However, it’s always possible that tax laws may change in future. What’s more, this may not apply to your specific situation. So, it’s important to seek qualified professional advice about the tax implications of any insurance product.

Yes – we created Seniors Funeral Insurance especially with your family in mind.

You can choose to cover just your own life with our single plan or cover yourself and your spouse or partner with our joint plan.

Yes – it’s up to you to nominate someone to receive your insurance benefit. And you can choose to split the money between up to five beneficiaries.

To nominate a beneficiary, you will need to complete a Nomination of Beneficiaries Form, which you will find in the back of the PDS. Once you have completed it, send it to us at:

Australian Seniors
PO Box 6728
Baulkham Hills NSW 2153

If you don’t choose anyone to receive your Seniors Funeral Insurance benefit, it will automatically go to the policy owner. If that’s you, the benefit will be paid to your legal personal representative (usually your Estate), or to another eligible person as set out in the Life Insurance Act 1995.

As soon we receive your completed claim documents and any additional information that we ask for, we’ll assess your claim. We’ll then pay these accepted claims as soon as possible – so your loved ones receive the money when they need it the most.

Absolutely – you can pay your premiums on your Visa or MasterCard, either fortnightly or each month, on any date you wish. If you prefer, we also accept payment by automatic debit from your bank, credit union or building society account.

With Seniors Funeral Insurance, you’ll be covered 24 hours a day, seven days a week, wherever you are in the world. However, you must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident and live in Australia, and you must not have plans to move overseas, when you apply.

If you take out your cover while you’re on a temporary work visa in Australia, but then move overseas, we will cancel your Policy.

Cover is just a phone call away – simply call 1300 078 596 to get cover today. Our friendly, Australia-based customer service consultants will be happy to answer any questions you may have, and provide you with an obligation free quote. 

Seniors Funeral Insurance will remain active until you reach 100 years of age. After this time, your policy will automatically end, and you will receive 125% of your cover amount.

Otherwise, your policy will end when you pass away and your family makes a claim.

You decide the amount of cover you want – from $3,000 up to $15,000.

If you die as a result of an Accident, or you suffer a serious injury that’s covered by the policy, you’ll receive three times the benefit you are insured for. For example, if you take out $5,000 worth of cover and you die in an Accident, we will pay you a $15,000 benefit.

You, your beneficiary or a family member should call us on 1300 306 775 and let us know that a claim will be lodged. Once notified of the claim, we will provide you with a Claim form or you can simply download the form below.

• Funeral Insurance Claim Form
• Accidental Serious Injury Claim Form
• Terminal Illness Claim Form

Complete the relevant form, and send along with all required documentation to:

Australian Seniors
Reply Paid 6728
Baulkham Hills NSW 2153

Or

Email: claims@seniors.com.au

• A fully completed claim form
• A certified copy of evidence of death – for example Death Certificate, Coroners Report, Attending Medical Practitioners Report
• A certified copy of evidence of the Deceased’s date of birth – for example a Birth Certificate, valid Passport, valid Driver’s Licence
• A certified copy of proof of the Claimant’s identity – for example a Birth Certificate, valid Passport, valid Driver’s Licence

A certified copy is a signed photocopy of an original document. The person signing it must see the original and the photocopy. It can be signed by a Justice of the Peace, Accountant, Solicitor, Doctor, Bank Manager or Police Officer. It means you keep the original document. The certified copy must include a statement “I certify that this is a true copy of the original document”. The certifier must also include their full name, signature, date, registration number (if any) and qualification or occupation on each page of the photocopied documents. Failure to do so may result in a delay in the claim being processed.

A beneficiary is the person or persons who are entitled to the benefit. As the Policyowner, you have the option to nominate between 1 and 5 beneficiaries to receive a proportion of the Benefit Amount.

A will is a legal document in which you state how you want your assets to be distributed after your death. Download your free Legal Will Kit.

An estate is the net worth of a person at any point in time. It is the sum of a person’s assets – legal rights, interests and entitlements to property of any kind – less all liabilities at that time.

Your executor is responsible for the entire administration of your estate and for carrying out your wishes as set out in your Will.

Generally within 1–2 business days on receipt of the completed claim form and supporting documents. Sometimes this may take longer if the documentation is inconclusive. Where this is the case we will seek additional information to process the claim as promptly as possible.

For nominated beneficiaries the payment will be direct credited to their nominated bank account. If there is no nominated beneficiary then the payment will be made by cheque to the ‘Estate of the late’.

Contact our friendly claims department by phone on 1300 306 775 or email claims@seniors.com.au

Life is full of uncertainties – and we can’t predict the future. And while there’s no point in dwelling on the worst, it’s good to be prepared.

By taking out funeral insurance, you can help protect your loved ones from high funeral costs, and other bills or expenses you leave behind.

No – and you don’t have to answer any intrusive questions about your health and lifestyle either.

A great benefit of Seniors Funeral Insurance is that you won’t need to pay any more premiums once you turn 85, which can help manage the cost of your policy over time. Plus, your premiums won’t increase every year.

Seniors Funeral Insurance also comes with 25% Bonus Cover once you turn 85 at no further cost, giving you even more value from your policy.

An ‘Accidental Death’ is a death occurring as the direct result of an Accident and where death occurs within 90 days of the Accident.

An ‘Accident’ means an event resulting in bodily injury occurring, where the injury is directly and solely caused by accidental, violent, external and visible means without any other contributing causes and where the injury is not self-inflicted.

If you take out funeral insurance, you pay a regular premium. In return, the people you nominate will receive a lump sum benefit when you die, to help cover the cost of your funeral and your other final expenses. With funeral insurance, your beneficiaries receive the full benefit if you die from accidental causes in the first 12 months, or of any cause after that – regardless of how much you have paid in premiums.

By contrast, with a pre-paid funeral, you choose the type of funeral you want, and pay for it in advance – either in full or in installments. If you die before the plan is paid for, your loved ones will need to pay extra, or make less expensive arrangements for you. What’s more, if you move interstate, you may not be able to transfer the pre-paid funeral plan to another funeral director.

By taking out Seniors Funeral Insurance, you can you protect your family from the financial burden of your funeral and other unforeseen costs. To discover how much this could be, try our funeral cost calculator for a breakdown of the costs involved.

You have a 30-day cooling off period from the day your policy starts, to ensure your Seniors Funeral Insurance policy is right for you. If you cancel your policy in this period, and as long as you haven’t made a claim within the first 30 days, we’ll give you a full refund of any premiums you have paid.

However, Seniors Funeral Insurance is not a savings or investment plan. So, if your cover is cancelled once the 30-day cooling off period is over, your cover will end – and you won’t receive a benefit or have any premiums refunded. However, if you have chosen a yearly payment option, we’ll refund on a pro-rata basis the unused portion of your premium.

If you are over 85 years of age and you cancel your cover you will be eligible for the Early Cash Out Option of 75% of your cover amount. You should note, if you choose the Early Cash Out Option, you’ll no longer be eligible to claim as this option will cancel your policy and you may receive less than you’ve paid in premiums to date.

Premiums for new Seniors Funeral Insurance policies currently available are designed to stay consistent year on year. Your premiums will only change if you apply to change your cover, or we change the premium rates for your policy. To learn more about how premiums are structured, read the Product Disclosure Statement.

If you have an active Funeral Insurance policy, the premium structure that applies to your policy will depend on the type of cover you have purchased. Please refer to your Product Disclosure Statement or contact us to find out more.

Simply email us at mail@seniors.com.au or call us on 1800 004 005.

We hope that you never have a reason to complain, but if you do, we will do our best to work with you to resolve it. To make a complaint, visit our complaints page.