This page covers the contact routes for 1Life funeral cover specifically – the sales, servicing and claims lines that 1Life publishes for its funeral product. All numbers were read from the 1Life website on 31 August 2026, including its own funeral cover and claims pages.
Official provider route
- Sales, new funeral cover: 0860 105 340
- Claims: 0860 105 196
- Client services, existing policies: 0860 105 194
- Report fraud: 0861 115 653
1Life splits these lines by purpose rather than by product, so the same claims number handles a funeral claim as handles any other 1Life claim. The 0860 105 340 sales line is the number 1Life places on its own funeral cover page, so it is the correct route for a quote or a new policy. If you already hold a policy and need to change a beneficiary, update a debit order or check cover, use client services on 0860 105 194 instead – the sales line will transfer you.
Product or service support
A funeral claim is time-critical in a way that most insurance claims are not, because families usually need funds before the funeral rather than after it. 1Life publishes a specific service commitment on its claims page: once you submit a claim request, a claims consultant will respond by email or telephone within 24 business hours. Note the wording – business hours, not calendar hours, so a claim lodged on a Friday afternoon may not be answered until the following week.
Because of that, phone the claims line on 0860 105 196 directly for a funeral claim rather than relying only on the online form, and say at the outset that the claim is a funeral claim. Ask for a claim reference number in the first call and use it in every later contact.
Eligibility, account or policy requirements
Before you call about a funeral claim, gather the policy number, the identity number of the life assured, and the identity number of the person claiming. A death certificate and proof of the claimant bank account are ordinarily required for any South African funeral claim, but the exact document list, the waiting periods that apply to your policy and the cover amount are policy-specific.
Ask the claims consultant to email you the full document list for your specific policy rather than working from a general list. Funeral policies commonly carry a waiting period during which only accidental death is covered, and whether that applies to you depends on when the policy started and what you disclosed. 1Life does not publish those terms as a single figure, so confirm them against your own policy schedule rather than against any figure quoted elsewhere.
Escalation route
Lodge the complaint with 1Life first through client services and follow its published complaints procedure, keeping the claim reference. 1Life publishes two external escalation routes on its own contact page, and which one applies depends on what went wrong:
- National Financial Ombud Scheme: 0860 800 900 – for a disputed claim decision or the handling of the policy
- FAIS Ombud: 012 762 5000 – for poor advice or the conduct of the intermediary who sold the policy
That distinction matters. A rejected funeral claim is a claims dispute for the National Financial Ombud Scheme. Being sold cover that never suited your circumstances is an advice complaint for the FAIS Ombud. Sending it to the wrong one costs weeks.
Sources
- 1life.co.za contact, funeral cover and claims pages, read 31 August 2026