- DEFINITIONS
| Policy Owner | The person indicated as such on the Policy Schedule. This is the person who applied for the policy, who is the owner of the policy and is also responsible for payment of the premium. |
| Insured(s) | Includes all the lives insured under the Policy added by the Policy Owner. All Insureds, apart from the Policy Owner, must be family members of the Policy Owner for whom the Policy Owner has insurable interest. All Insured(s) must reside permanently in South Africa. |
| Spouse | Means the Spouse of the Policy Owner named in your Policy Schedule and includes a party to a marriage under the Marriage Act, 1961 or civil union partner under the Civil Union Act, 2006; or a spouse according to the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act, 1998; or a permanent life partner of the main member who the insured lived with for a period longer than 12 months prior to death and they shared a common household and living expenses. Cover is limited to one nominated spouse. Proof of such union will be requested at claims stage. |
| Child(ren) | Means the biological child, stepchild, legally adopted child or grandchild (whose parents are both deceased) of the Policy Owner. A dependent child that attained the age of 18 years shall no longer be covered under this policy, unless enrolled as a full-time student at a registered tertiary institution until a maximum age of 21. We may request proof of dependency at claims stage. In respect of stepchildren we will require the relevant marriage certificate between the biological parent and the stepparent. All listed children are covered at no additional cost to you. A maximum of six children may be added on a policy |
| Extended Family | Includes additional spouses and children, siblings, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews. All relationships of Extended Family members are defined in terms of biological relatives of the Policy Owner or Spouse. A maximum of six Extended Family members may be added on a policy. |
| Beneficiary | Is the person(s) entitled to the proceeds of the death benefits of the Policy Owner. |
| Accidental Death | Means death caused solely by injury sustained during an Accident, within 90 days of the Accident, which is not related to any other causes. The death must be caused directly and independently of all other causes by some external and visible means. Please note that any event occurring before Cover Start Date is specifically excluded. |
| Cover Start Date | Means the day of your first successful premium collection and as stated in your Policy Schedule. Your waiting periods also commence from this date. |
- WHAT THIS POLICY COVERS
This policy pays out a tax-free cash lump sum to your beneficiary if you die, and to you (the Policy Owner) if someone else covered on the policy dies. The money may be used for funeral and related expenses.
- WHO QUALIFIES FOR THIS POLICY?
To be eligible for cover under the policy, the following conditions must be met at the start date:
- All persons covered under this policy must be South African citizens;
- You (the Policy Owner) must be between 18 and 74 years of age and in possession of a green barcoded identity (ID) book or smart card ID;
- Your spouse must be between 18 and 74 years of age;
- Your children must be below the age of 18 years. Cover for stillborn children (and babies (younger than 3 months) is an additional, automatic benefit. A maximum of one claim for a stillborn child will be paid over the policy term.
- Extended family members must be between 18 and 64 years of age in order to be covered under to this policy;
- You must agree to the terms and conditions of this policy agreement.
- WHEN DOES YOUR POLICY START?
Cover commences on the Cover Start Date subject to successful collection of the first premium.
- WHEN DOES THE POLICY AND COVER END?
This policy and all cover ends:
- If the policy lapses
- If Policy Owner or Vodacom Life cancels the policy
- Upon the death of the Policy Owner, unless the Continuation Option is applied.
- COVER AMOUNTS
The following cover limits apply:
- Your cover amount and the cover amount for your spouse, parents and extended family members cannot exceed R50 000.
- The cover amount for your children younger than 6 years old cannot exceed 50% of your cover amount subject to maximum of R20 000 as per applicable insurance legislation.
- The cover amount for your children between 6 and 13 years old cannot exceed 75% of your cover amount subject to a maximum of R50 000 as per applicable insurance legislation.
- The cover amount for your children between 14 and 18 years old cannot exceed R50 000.
- The amount paid for a stillborn baby is 12.5% your cover amount up to a maximum of R7 500.
- WHAT BENEFITS ARE DUE TO YOU?
On approval of a valid claim, the cash benefit as outlined in your policy schedule will be made available as a tax fee cash lump sum and paid into your nominated bank account, which we will request from you as part of the claims process.
VodaPay Data Rewards provide qualifying Vodacom Funeral Cover Policy Owners, who have selected the benefit, with discounted data of up to 1GB per month. In order to qualify for this benefit, the Policy Owner must:
- Hold a valid and up to date Vodacom Funeral Cover Policy and be covered for at least R20 000 on such a policy.
- Be an active Vodacom contract or prepaid subscriber
- Have an active VodaPay account and must visit the app at least once a month.
- Have their Vodacom number as the primary contact number on their policy and use the same on the VodaPay App.
The data applicable per cover amount is as follows:
Total Cover Required Single Insured Policy (Policy Owner Only) | Total Cover Required Multiple Insureds Policy (Policy Owner + Spouse + Extended Family) | Applicable Data Benefit |
| R20 000 to <R30 000 | R20 000 (Policy Owner) | 250MB |
| R30 000 to <R40 000 | R20 000 (Policy Owner) + R10 000 (Spouse + Extended Family) | 500MB |
| R40 000 to <R50 000 | R20 000 (Policy Owner) + R20 000 (Spouse + Extended Family) | 750MB |
| R50 000+ | R20 000 (Policy Owner) + R30 000 (Spouse + Extended Family) | 1GB |
Please note that the data reward will only be allocated to the contact number provided on the policy and cannot be exchanged for cash. If the data benefit is due to you in any month, it will be automatically allocated on the 15th every month. The data will expire after 14 days once allocated and any unused data benefit will be forfeited. Please visit https://www.vodacom.co.za/vodacom/terms/competition/funeral-cover-rewards for detailed terms and conditions.
If value added benefits have been activated, the following value-added benefits will be made available on notification of a claim:
- A R300 airtime benefit, in the form of a voucher, to a non-contract cell phone number of the beneficiary’s choosing.
- Dispatch of a Vodacom Bereavement Box to the appointed beneficiary within 48 hours of a valid claim. This includes:
- Debit card preloaded with R500 to be used as the beneficiary sees fit.
- Frequently Asked Questions sheet and pamphlets to assist with funeral arrangements.
- Government forms to be completed for death certificate.
- Access to a 24-hour Emergency Assistance Helpline where we will provide the beneficiary with counselling by trained medical professionals in relation to the death claimed for on the policy. This is a 24-hour emergency assistance helpline that:
- Arranges the nearest local emergency assistance service as well as provides emergency transport to the nearest, most appropriate medical facility should this be required by a family member.
- Offers referrals for psychiatric consultations
- Child play therapy
- 10 trips per annum related to the policy within the metropolitan areas, to assist with trauma visits and/or funeral arrangements.
- Repatriation of the deceased within the borders of South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Mozambique. This benefit is only available to the Policy Owner, as well as the Policy Owner’s Spouse, 5 children and 2 External Family members who must be covered under this policy. The service assists the bereaved family and next-of-kin with the facilitation of the burial. It comprises of the following:
- Locating of the deceased
- Overnight accommodation for the next-of-kin in order to identify the body (up to R1500)
- Repatriation of mortal remains to a place of burial, at no extra cost (only in SA)
- Referral to a pathologist if an autopsy is required
- Referral to a reputable undertaker
- Assistance with funeral arrangements
- Advice on how to apply for death certificate and border-crossing documentation
- Interpretation of legal documentation such as the funeral policy
- Referral to counselling services for support and advice
Please note that the value-added benefits are non-transferable and cannot be exchanged for cash.
- WHAT DO YOU PAY?
The total premium, as stated in this policy agreement, includes all the premiums for all the persons covered under this policy. Premiums are payable monthly on your selected date via debit order.
- You authorise us to collect premiums from your chosen bank account in your name, each month on your selected date.
- You need to ensure that there is money in your bank account monthly on the collection date.
- In the event that the collection date falls on a weekend or public holiday, it will be submitted for collection on the previous or following working day.
- In the event that the premium is returned by the bank for non-payment, our tracking service may continue to check your account and collect, should there be enough money to cover the premium.
- If we fail to collect a premium, we will collect a double premium on your next scheduled collection date. If the double premium collection fails, the Plan will lapse, and cover will end immediately. If successful, your plan will continue as per the agreement.
- A Policy Owner can reinstate their lapsed policy within 60 days of the policy lapsing. There will be no cover between the time the policy lapsed and the first successful premium collection after reinstatement.
- You may change your premium collection date at any time. However, changes requested within seven days from the next premium payment date, may only be applied from the following month.
You can also make Pay@ or EasyPay payments on the VodaPay App or at participating stores and outlets, any time prior to your premium collection day.
We have the right to change premiums for any reason, including changes relating to legislation or other rules applicable to this Policy, or if Vodacom feels that these are no longer sufficient. We will let you know in writing 31 days in advance of any changes to your premium and you will be afforded an opportunity to select alternatives to mitigate the impact of the change in premiums.
THESE ARE IMPORTANT POINTS FOR YOU TO REMEMBER:
- WAITING PERIODS
Persons covered under this policy have a six-month waiting period for death as a result of natural cause and twelve months waiting period for death by suicide. No waiting period applies for Accidental Death or for Children added within 3 months of their birth. The waiting period for each person covered starts from their cover start date and recommences for any part of cover that is increased on the date that the increase in cover commences.
This waiting period applies to all benefits under this policy.
Waiting periods already served with FSCA registered insurers will be waived for all Policy Owners subject to the Policy Owner providing proof of previous funeral cover as well as policy cancellation documents not older than 31 days from the cover start date. Policies cancelled by your previous insurer i.e. not initiated by you, will not be eligible for the waiver. This includes, but is not limited to, cancellation or lapse as a result of unpaid premiums.
The waiver will apply to the same main benefit amount that all the lives were covered for with the previous insurer. Ancillary benefits will not be considered. Additional cover taken with Vodacom Life will be subject to normal waiting periods. To apply to for the waiver, the Policy Owner should submit the following documents to Vodacom Life:
- Proof of previous cover with the following information:
- full names and dates of birth (or ID numbers) of all insured lives
- policy inception date
- cover amounts for each insured life as well as the applicable waiting periods.
- Proof of cancellation of cover not older than 31 days from Cover Start Date
- EXCLUSIONS
We will not pay any benefit if death arises directly or indirectly from any of the items listed below:
- Wilful and material breaking of any law by the life assured;
- Participation in war and/or acts of war, whether declared or not;
- Participation in civil commotion, insurrection, riot, usurpation of power, terrorism or acts of terrorism;
- Radioactivity and nuclear explosions;
- Fraud, misrepresentation or failure to disclose information.
- ESCALATIONS
Your premium and cover amount for all insured lives will escalate by 5% annually on your policy anniversary. You may opt out of these escalations; however, once you have opted out, you will not be able to opt in again. Escalations for yourself, your spouse and children will continue until you have turned 65 years old. Escalations will continue for extended family members until they have turned 74 years old.
If you have upgraded or downgraded your cover in the 3 months’ prior to your escalation date, the escalation will not be applied for that year.
- PREMIUM HOLIDAY
You may qualify for a premium holiday in December of every year. To qualify, you must have paid all your premiums from January to November of each year. This premium holiday will be automatically applied, and you will not be billed for that December.
If you missed a premium from January to November, you will not receive your premium holiday for that year.
- CESSIONS
This cover may not be ceded or transferred to a third party as security for a debt or for any other reason.
- CLAIMS
In order to register a claim, you will be required to call Vodacom Life, in order to report and notify us of a death claim. A validation process will be initiated and a check will be conducted against the following criteria:
- An active policy needs to be place at the time of loss;
- Activation of value added benefits;
- All premiums need to have been paid in full;
- Confirmation needs to be provided that the insured event (death) has occurred, and
- The deceased is covered on the policy.
The claimant must have the following information available when they contact us:
- The Insured Life’s policy number and/or ID number.
- The date and cause of the claim event.
We will advise what documents we need in order to process the claim. Generally, we require the following documentation:
- a fully completed claim form;
- a certified copy of the South African death certificate;
- a BI1663 form;
- the deceased’s ID as well as the beneficiary’s ID;, certified copies
- a certified copy of a marriage certificate or proof of marriage if claiming for a spouse;
- an unabridged birth certificate if claiming for a child; certified copy.
- proof of bank account; and
- a police report and/or post-mortem if death is an Accidental Death.
All information provided is at the claimant’s own cost. We reserve the right to request any additional information or documentation required to validate the claim.
It’s important that we are informed about the event that leads to the claim within 180 days of it happening. The claim may be declined if we are not informed in time. We will usually pay out a valid claim within 48 hours of verifying all required claim documents as deemed necessary by the insurer. Should you or your beneficiaries wish to dispute a claim decision, they have to do so within 180 days of receiving a formal communication about the outcome of the claim. You and your beneficiaries must submit the reasons for the dispute in writing for it to be re-assessed. If they would like to institute legal proceedings, it must be done within 180 days of receiving a formal communication of the claim outcome.
It is your responsibility to make sure that we always have up-to-date contact information for you and your beneficiaries. If we become aware that there are payouts due to be made under this policy agreement, we will always first try to contact your beneficiaries at the last contact details provided to us. If we are not able to make contact, we have to take reasonable steps to find the beneficiaries. In order to do this, we may have to appoint external tracing agents and this agreement permits us to give the tracing agents access to personal information. Please also note that a tracing and management fee may be deducted from the payout amount. We will pay interest, if applicable.
If any claim under this policy involves fraud, misrepresentation or false information, the policy agreement may be cancelled. In this case, no payouts will be made and no premiums will be refunded.
- UNDERWRITER AND ADMINISTRATOR
This product is underwritten by Vodacom Life Assurance Company (RF) Limited, a licensed life insurer.
How to contact us:
- Call: 082 178 00
- Email: [email protected] (for all non-claims related queries or complaints) or [email protected] (for claims only)
- Write to: Vodacom Life Assurance Company (RF) Limited, Vodacom Corporate Park, 082 Vodacom Boulevard, Midrand,1685.
This product is administered by O’keeffe & Swartz BPO (Pty) Ltd, an authorized financial services provider (FSP no: 35478), for which they receive fees.
- QUERIES AND COMPLAINTS
For any queries you may have regarding your policy, please contact 082 178 00 or [email protected]
If you are not satisfied with your level of service, you may log a formal complaint by calling 082 178 00 or sending an email to [email protected].
Should you be dissatisfied with the outcome, you have the right to contact National Financial Ombudsman (NFO):
National Financial Ombudsman | NFO Johannesburg 10 Oxford Road, Houghton Estate, Johannesburg, Gauteng, 2198 | NFO Cape Town 6th Floor, Claremont Central Building,6 Vineyard Road, Claremont, Cape Town, 7700 |
- COMPLIANCE
The Compliance Department can be contacted by calling our Customer Care Centre on 082 178 00.
- CANCELLATION AND COOLING OFF PERIOD
If you decide to cancel the policy agreement within the cooling-off period of 30 days after receiving this policy agreement, we will refund any premiums already made under this policy agreement. The cooling-off period only applies if a claim has not been submitted or if no cover amounts have been paid out to you or your beneficiary.
You can cancel this policy agreement at any time by sending us a cancellation request in writing or by calling us
The agreement will come to an end on the last day of the calendar month for which you have already made your payment and no cover will be provided after that date. In such an event no premiums will be refunded to you.
We may cancel this Policy or place it on hold with immediate effect, refuse process any transaction or act on your instruction and we may take any other action that we consider necessary to comply with the law and prevent or stop undesirable or criminal activity.
- CONTINUATION OPTION
In the event of your death, and provided you have a spouse already covered on the policy, your spouse will be given the option to continue your policy as the new policyholder. Your spouse will have 3 months to exercise this continuation option. If they choose to exercise this option, the policy will be re-rated according to the age of the life insured when they first entered the policy (provided no cover amount updates are done and no lives are added or removed). Waiting periods already served will also carry over. No premium will be due for the duration after your death and prior to your spouse exercising the continuation option. All other terms and conditions will apply as normal.
- FORCE MAJEURE
Force Majeure refers to circumstances beyond our reasonable control, such as an act of God, acts of the State or Government, exceptional weather conditions, total national electricity failures, war or war-like activities or serious delays in public transport that may prevent us from carrying out our obligations under this agreement. In the event of a force majeure this agreement will be suspended until we can deliver on our obligations. We will, if possible, notify you of the suspension and the estimated duration of the suspension. We will not be liable for any damages caused as a result of the suspension.
- CONFIDENTIALITY AND SHARING OF INFORMATION
By taking out this policy, you hereby authorize Vodacom Life to obtain personal information from you, and when required, from an independent third party, which may be needed to assess the risks to which the policy agreement relates or for the purposes of entering into or performing in terms of a policy agreement, and or to assess claims in respect of contracts to which this policy agreement relates. Please refer to our privacy notice for a description of how we process your personal information.
As agreed, personal information will be stored, processed and used only by our partners. This may include the exchange of information regarding the payment history of the person who is responsible payment of the premiums.
Please note that for risk management purposes we may exchange claim information with other insurers. Where you provided personal information of a third party, for example, your beneficiaries, you confirm that you have provided the information with due permission.
- PRIVACY NOTICE
This Privacy notice applies to the use of, purchase or other interaction with Vodacom funeral cover. Unless context dictates otherwise, the Vodacom Privacy Statement on https://www.vodacom.co.za/vodacom/terms/privacy-policy shall also apply to all interactions with Vodacom Funeral Cover, regarding any collection, use or other processing of personal information.
- Personal Information Collected
- Vodacom only collects personal information required to enter into a Vodacom Funeral Cover agreement and provide the related services in relation to the agreement.
- Information collected by Vodacom includes, Name and Surname, Identity Number, Contact Number, Email Address, Bank Account Number and Policy Agreement Number.
- Vodacom does not obtain additional personal information from other sources, without your express consent.
- Uses and Sharing
- Vodacom processes the information to provide you with funeral cover as per agreement, for purposes of entering into or performing in terms of a contract and may use the information to provide you with information on related products or offer discount certain offerings;
- Vodacom will use the personal information you provide only for purposes consistent with the reason you provided it;
- Vodacom does not share your personal information with other marketers unless Vodacom have obtained your explicit consent. If you do not provide your consent, Vodacom will not share your personal information;
- When Vodacom provides personal information to companies that perform services on our behalf, Vodacom require those companies to handle the personal information in accordance with our full privacy notice, as well as applicable privacy legislation. These companies cannot use your personal
- Your Rights
- You may access personal information that Vodacom holds about you. You can ask us to correct any errors or delete the personal information Vodacom have about you;
- You may opt-out of any marketing messages or further contact from us;
- To protect your privacy, Vodacom may have to verify your identity before Vodacom can give you access to, or change, personal information about you.
A – ABOUT THE SMARTPHONE LOYALTY BENEFIT
- ‘VIA’ means Vodacom Insurance Administration Company (Pty) Ltd.
- This loyalty benefit is provided in partnership with Vodacom (Pty) Ltd and is available to all Vodacom Funeral Cover Policy Owners who hold valid policies and are active Vodacom contract or prepaid subscribers. - In order to qualify for this benefit, the Member must:
- Hold a valid Vodacom Funeral Policy, as the main policy owner, throughout Membership;
- Agree to join the VIA Loyalty and Benefits Program for a monthly membership fee of 0.1% of the
Member’s cover amount;
- Be an active Vodacom contract subscriber;
- Have been active on the Vodacom network for a continuous period of 24 months from the date of inception of the Vodacom Funeral Cover policy;
- Have been active on the Vodacom network at least 15 days per month, or 180 days per year over a continuous period of 24 months. Active means that, for 15 days of the month:
- Your Vodacom SIM card is in a mobile device,
- Your device is switched on,
- You must make or receive a call, send or receive an SMS or Please Call Me, use data or a USSD string (but excludes voicemail calls or call forwarding through the SIM card).
- If you do not meet the minimum active days (at least 15 days per month, or 180 days per year over a continuous period of 24 months), your loyalty benefit active day count will be reset to zero. This means that the Member will need to be active on the Vodacom network for a further 24 months to receive the loyalty benefit. Vodacom will send you frequent messages by SMS and email to help you retain your loyalty benefit.
- If you meet the above requirements, the Member will be rewarded with a smartphone. The value of the - smartphone will be 5% of the Member’s cover amount.
B – VODACOM LEGAL ADVICE LINE
- As an additional benefit, any Vodacom Funeral Policy Owner who joins the VIA loyalty and benefits program as a Member will have 24-hour Legal Assistance via the Vodacom Legal Advice Line.
- This benefit may be used as soon as the Vodacom Funeral Policy Owner joins the VIA loyalty and benefits program as a Member
- The Vodacom Legal Advice Line is a comprehensive legal assistance service available to the Member. Qualified lawyers and legal consultants as well as academics provide the service telephonically. - To use this benefit simply call 082 178 00
C – PROCEDURE FOR REDEEMING THE SMARTPHONE BENEFIT
- Provided you have met the requirements as set out in (A) above, for a period of 24 months, Vodacom will provide you with a list of smartphones from which to choose.
- The value of the smartphone that can be chosen will be based on 5% of the Member’s sum assured. For example, a Member who is covered for R50 000 will receive a smartphone to the value of R2 500.
- You, as the Member, will then be able to redeem your voucher by calling 082 178 00. You will then have the option of arranging either the collection or delivery of your selected smartphone.
D – PLEASE READ CAREFULLY
- In order to enjoy this benefit, you will be required to provide VIA with a Vodacom contract number which will be used to measure active days on the Vodacom network. The Vodacom number provided must belong to the Member.
- In order to enjoy any benefit that may arise out of this program, the Member will ensure that all monthly membership fees are duly paid. For the avoidance of doubt, any failure to pay the monthly membership fee will result in the termination of membership to the VIA Loyalty and Benefits Program.
- You have the option to opt out of this loyalty benefit at any time by emailing [email protected].
- Cover on your Vodacom Funeral Insurance Policy is only subject to the insurance premium being paid and is not dependent on meeting the requirements as set out in the terms and conditions of this loyalty benefit.
- The Vodacom Legal Advice Line is provided by Vodacom Insurance Company (RF) Limited and administered by LIPCO Business (Pty) Ltd, an authorised financial services provider
- For any queries or should you wish to lodge a complaint regarding the loyalty program please contact us on 082 178 00.
E – FURTHER BENEFITS
VLA wishes to show its appreciation to its Members by adding more loyalty benefits to this program from time to time. Vodacom may also amend the type of benefits available under this program and will provide its Members with reasonable prior written notice in event of any such change.