AVBOB funeral cover review: what the policies actually offer
This page is a neutral summary of what AVBOB publicly states about its funeral cover products. It isn't a recommendation, and it isn't AVBOB marketing copy rewritten — where AVBOB's own site didn't state a figure, we say so rather than fill in a guess.
Who AVBOB is
AVBOB Mutual Assurance Society describes itself as a licensed life insurer and authorised Financial Services Provider (FSP 20656). Unlike most of the other insurers on this site, AVBOB also operates its own funeral homes directly — its policies include "FREE" funeral benefits (an upfront cash payout, funeral arrangements, a coffin and hearse, and transport of the deceased) specifically when AVBOB itself is the funeral conductor and the insured person has been covered for 24 months or longer. That's a distinctive structural feature worth knowing about: some of the stated value of an AVBOB policy is tied to using AVBOB's own funeral services rather than a funeral home of your choice.
Cashback Funeral Cover
AVBOB's main whole-life funeral policy. As stated on AVBOB's product page:
- Cover amounts: up to R50 000 for the main insured person and spouse; up to R30 000 for parents and extended family members; up to R30 000 for children (varies by age).
- Family cover: spouse, own/step/legally adopted children under one shared premium, up to 4 parents (parents, stepparents, foster parents or parents-in-law — all at the same insured amount, and per a related AVBOB article, each must be younger than 80), and up to 6 other extended family members (siblings, grandparents, foster children, grandchildren, in-laws, uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces, cousins, plus an additional spouse and their children and parents).
- Waiting period: six months for death from natural causes, applying to all insured persons from the policy's issue date. No waiting period applies to accidental death once the first premium is paid. There's also a separate accident benefit that doubles the insured amount (to a stated maximum of R20 000) if the main insured person dies from an accident before their 60th birthday and within 90 days of the accident, again without a waiting period (suicide excluded).
- Switching insurers: the standard six-month wait can be reduced or waived if you can show you had funeral cover with a previous insurer and the new AVBOB policy starts within 31 days of the old one lapsing or being cancelled.
- Other stated features: a cashback payment "for every five, consecutive, claim-free years"; a survivor benefit paid in six equal monthly instalments; a breadwinner benefit that keeps a spouse, children and (after 10 years) extended family covered without further premiums if the premium-paying main insured dies; discretionary non-guaranteed bonuses; and payment options including cash at branches, debit/stop order, or at participating retail stores (PEP, Shoprite, Pick n Pay, Boxer, Checkers, Usave).
AVBOB's own site did not state a minimum or maximum entry age for the main insured person on this specific product.
Group Funeral Insurance Scheme for Pensioners
A separate product aimed specifically at older applicants. As stated on AVBOB's product page:
- Entry age: minimum age 55 for a once-off single-premium policy, or 65 for a monthly-premium policy. Once the main insured person is older than 84, only the once-off payment option is available. No maximum age is stated.
- Cover amounts (monthly premium): R8 000 cover for R150/month at ages 65–74, R180/month at ages 75–79, or R220/month at ages 80–84.
- Cover amount (once-off payment): R10 000 cover for a R10 000 once-off payment, available from age 55 upward (including 85 and older).
- Extra cover add-on: an additional R2 000 of cover for costs like municipal grave fees, tombstone amendment, cremation fees, church official payments and fresh flowers, priced separately by age band or as a R2 000 once-off payment.
- Waiting period: the monthly-premium option carries the standard six-month natural-death waiting period (with the same switching-insurer waiver as above). The once-off single-premium option has, in AVBOB's own words, "no waiting period" at all, provided the policy has been issued and the premium received.
Extended Family Funeral Cover
AVBOB also markets a product specifically named "Extended Family Funeral Cover," described as covering "your whole family, including your parents, parents-in-law and extended family members" for "an affordable premium." AVBOB's page for this specific product did not publish cover amounts, age limits or waiting-period figures at the time we accessed it — based on the overlapping benefit names, it's plausible this describes the same extended-family benefit within the Cashback plan above rather than an entirely separate policy, but we couldn't confirm that distinction from AVBOB's own site, so treat it as a separate line item to ask AVBOB about directly.
What we couldn't verify
- A minimum or maximum entry age for the main insured person under the Cashback Funeral Cover product.
- Whether "Extended Family Funeral Cover" is a distinct product from the extended-family benefit already included in Cashback Funeral Cover, or simply another name for it.
- Current premium amounts for Cashback Funeral Cover (AVBOB requires a quote rather than publishing a premium table for this product, unlike the pensioner scheme).
Disclaimer
This is a factual summary of publicly available information, not an endorsement of AVBOB or a recommendation that this product suits your circumstances. Figures are as stated on AVBOB's own site as at August 2026 and are subject to change — always confirm current premiums, cover amounts, age limits and waiting periods directly with AVBOB before buying a policy. If you want advice specific to your situation, consider speaking to a licensed financial adviser.
Sources (accessed August 2026)
- AVBOB — Cashback Funeral Cover
- AVBOB — Group Funeral Insurance Scheme for Pensioners
- AVBOB — Extended Family Funeral Cover
- AVBOB — "Give Back to Your Parents with Funeral Cover"
- AVBOB — "Funeral Cover with No Waiting Period"