Two funeral insurance companies were called to give evidence in Round 4 of The Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry, Experiences with financial entities in regional and remote communities. Submissions centred on the appropriateness of products, the non-disclosure that the total premiums of a policy could be more than … Read more
Firstly, friendly societies, such as Sureplan, are comprised of multiple benefit funds and the assets of each fund, by law, must be quarantined or separated. The assets of a fund can only be used for the payment of benefits to members of that fund and all net earnings must be retained in that fund for … Read more
There are many differences between Sureplan’s funeral insurance plan, Sureplan Family Fund (SFF), and most other plans available in Australia. It is now well known that SFF is the only funeral insurance plan that provides cover for a lifetime, with premiums that are guaranteed to never increase and payable only until age 60. Another difference … Read more
Sureplan is different to other companies that offer funeral insurance in Australia. Believe it or not there are 14 companies offering funeral insurance in Australia according to research company Canstar, including Sureplan The other 13 are all for-profit life insurance companies whereas Sureplan is a mutual life insurer. Being a mutual friendly society, Sureplan has … Read more
It is not surprising to learn, according to a report from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), that 63% of people who died in 2015 were aged 75 or over. What may be surprising for some is that the ABS figures also show that 13.5% of the deaths in this year were people aged under … Read more
There have been many articles in recent years highlighting the poor practices of some funeral insurance providers. In many cases these articles have centred on the poor value of some funeral insurance plans and commented that customers could end up paying premiums of up to 5 or 6 times the final payout. While unfortunately this … Read more
The Government has announced changes to the Assets Test that will apply to pension entitlements from 1 January 2017. There will be an increase in the Asset test free thresholds which will allow for an estimated 50,000 more Australians to qualify for a full pension (“SuperGuide” – June 2016).However, the rate at which a pension … Read more
Many of us will later in life come to a decision that we should get something in place to pay for our funeral. Some will consider taking out funeral insurance especially if we are have been exposed to the many advertisements shown on daytime television – you know those highly emotional ones that can make … Read more
If you are seeking Government assistance to help meet the accommodation and care costs of an aged care home, investing in Sureplan Gold funeral bond may be beneficial. To determine if you are eligible for Government assistance you will first need to complete an Income & Assets Test undertaken by either the Department of Human … Read more