Do I restart the waiting period when I switch funeral cover?

Not if you do it correctly. The Policyholder Protection Rules say a new insurer may not impose a waiting period when you completed one on a previous policy covering similar risks on the same lives, and may only impose the unexpired remainder if yours was partly served. Claim the credit explicitly and get it in writing; it is a right, not a favour.

Should I cancel my old funeral policy before the new one starts?

Never. The safe sequence is: get the new policy issued, confirm the waiting-period credit in writing on the policy schedule, see the first premium collected, and only then cancel the old policy. A gap of even a month between policies can cost the waiting-period credit and leaves the family exposed if a death falls in the gap.

When is switching funeral cover a bad idea?

When the person covered is elderly and the new product's entry ages exclude them, when the new policy's per-life benefits are quietly lower, or when the saving is small against the risk of an administrative slip. For old policies on elderly lives especially, the policy you have held for years is often worth more than any discount.

How to Switch Funeral Cover Without Losing Your Waiting Period

People switch funeral cover to save money, to escape bad service, or to consolidate scattered policies. All good reasons. But funeral policies punish sloppy switching more than any other insurance, because the waiting period and entry ages can turn a better deal into no cover at all. Here is how to move safely.

Your legal rights when switching

The Policyholder Protection Rules, the regulations governing funeral policies, are explicit:

Completed waiting period elsewhere? A new insurer may not impose any waiting period on a policy covering similar risks on the same lives, where the previous policy was held before switching (the rules reference cover in place at least 31 days prior).
Waiting period partly served? The new insurer may impose only the unexpired part, not a fresh six months.
Several insurers write this into their public terms, and the rest must honour it when asked. The catch is that call centres do not always volunteer it, and application forms do not always ask about prior cover. You must claim the credit: state that you have prior cover, provide the old schedule, and require the credit to appear on the new policy schedule.

If an insurer refuses credit you are entitled to, put it in writing to their complaints department, and escalate to the National Financial Ombud Scheme if needed; both steps are free.

The safe switching sequence

Get the new quote for identical cover: same lives, same benefit amounts. The three-quote method applies here too.
Check entry ages before anything else. This is the trap that cannot be undone: if your 81-year-old mother is on the old policy and the new product's entry age for parents stops at 75, switching her means losing her cover forever. Compare provider age limits in funeral cover for parents.
Compare per-life benefits, not headlines. A cheaper premium that quietly halves the benefit on three extended-family members is not cheaper.
Apply, declaring your existing cover, and demand the waiting-period credit in writing. The credit must appear on the schedule, not in a phone call.
Wait for the new policy to be issued and the first premium to be collected.
Only then cancel the old policy, in writing, keeping the confirmation.

The golden rule underneath all six steps: there must never be a day on which nobody is on risk. An overlap of one month's double premiums is cheap insurance against a gap that could cost a full payout.

The switching traps

The "restart" trick. Collectors or brokers who lapse and re-sell a policy have restarted the waiting period, sometimes deliberately for commission. Reinstatement terms belong in writing; see the pattern in our scam guide.
Switching an elderly person for a small saving. Old policies on old lives are assets. The premium you resent was priced when they were younger; a new policy prices them today, if it accepts them at all.
Losing loyalty benefits. Cashback cycles (five claim-free years at AVBOB, three years at Sanlam) reset when you leave. Time a switch just after a payout cycle, not just before.
Consolidating into untested cover. Folding four small policies into one big one is usually smart; doing it all on the same day the new policy starts, before its credit is confirmed in writing, is not.

When switching is clearly right

Paying materially more for identical cover at a licensed competitor; an insurer with a record of claim stalling (check your rights in how to claim funeral cover); or discovering your "policy" is with an unlicensed scheme, in which case switching to any licensed insurer is urgent, and the waiting period you sadly cannot credit from a scheme is the price of safety. Whatever the reason: new policy first, credit in writing, old policy last.

Frequently asked

Do I restart the waiting period when I switch funeral cover?: Not if you do it correctly. The Policyholder Protection Rules say a new insurer may not impose a waiting period when you completed one on a previous policy covering similar risks on the same lives, and may only impose the unexpired remainder if yours was partly served. Claim the credit explicitly and get it in writing; it is a right, not a favour.
Should I cancel my old funeral policy before the new one starts?: Never. The safe sequence is: get the new policy issued, confirm the waiting-period credit in writing on the policy schedule, see the first premium collected, and only then cancel the old policy. A gap of even a month between policies can cost the waiting-period credit and leaves the family exposed if a death falls in the gap.
When is switching funeral cover a bad idea?: When the person covered is elderly and the new product's entry ages exclude them, when the new policy's per-life benefits are quietly lower, or when the saving is small against the risk of an administrative slip. For old policies on elderly lives especially, the policy you have held for years is often worth more than any discount.

Information is accurate to the best of our knowledge as of August 2026. Procedures, fees and regulations change - verify critical details with your funeral parlour, Home Affairs or the FSCA before acting on them.