Mukuru Funeral Policy Contact Details

Mukuru publishes two numbers that differ by one digit, and the funeral policy uses the second one. Get this wrong and you spend your call with people who cannot see your policy.

The two numbers

• Funeral cover enquiries: 086 001 8556 — the number Mukuru prints in the funeral cover terms.
• General Mukuru support: 0860 018 555, which is also the WhatsApp number — save it as +27 86 001 8555 and send the word Hi.
• USSD, no data needed: *130*567#
• The Mukuru app, and Mukuru branches, which are listed on the website

8556 for the policy, 8555 for money transfers and everything else. Read it back to yourself before dialling.

Who actually carries the risk

This matters more than the brand on the policy. Mukuru Funeral Cover is underwritten by Guardrisk, a licensed insurer with FSP number 76. Mukuru distributes it. If a claim is disputed, the insurer is Guardrisk and the FSP licence you would quote to a regulator is Guardrisk’s.

The repatriation benefit is not insurance

Repatriation across Southern Africa, with up to eight people travelling with the deceased, is the reason many people buy this policy, and it is genuinely the standout feature. But Mukuru marks it, and the teacher, legal and trauma assistance benefits, with an asterisk: they are provided by Europ Assist as non-financial products, and Mukuru states plainly that you are not afforded the same FAIS protections on them as on the insurance itself. So the cash payout is regulated insurance; the repatriation service is a service contract. Different recourse if it goes wrong.

Waiting periods and the exclusion that catches people

• A six month waiting period applies from commencement for natural death, on every plan.
• There is no waiting period for accidental death.
• Suicide is excluded for the first 12 months from commencement.
• Mukuru warns that inaccurate information given at application may affect the payout. Age and health questions answered loosely are the usual cause of a declined funeral claim.

The four plans, as published

• Send Me Home — main member only, R37.50 a month, R20 000 payout.
• Send Me Home Gold — main member, R62.50 a month, R32 500.
• Send Us Home Parent — main member and 4 children, R87 a month, R30 000 on the main member.
• Send Us Home Family — main member, spouse and 4 children, R135 a month, R35 000 on the main member and R26 250 on the spouse.

Extended family members can be added on all but the entry plan, priced by age band. Premiums and cover amounts are as Mukuru published them and are the sort of thing that changes, so confirm on the day you apply.

Premiums come off on the 2nd

Mukuru bills funeral premiums on the 2nd of every month. A policy lapses when premiums stop, and a lapsed policy that is reinstated usually restarts the waiting period. If your salary date moved or a card expired, phone 086 001 8556 before the 2nd rather than after.

If a claim is declined

• Ask for the reason in writing, naming the clause. Waiting period and non-disclosure are the two common grounds.
• Complain to Guardrisk as the insurer, not only to Mukuru as the distributor.
• Unresolved, a funeral policy complaint goes to the National Financial Ombud Scheme at no cost to you.