The importance of communication in funeral and life insurance

After a little more than a year into my role as Metropolitan’s chief marketing officer, I have started to think a lot differently about death and the business of death. Coming from an FMCG environment, the transition to the services sector, specifically funeral and life insurance, has been significant, but I have also found that there are similarities between the two.

The same promise that a single product makes to a consumer in terms of quality, taste, or functionality must be kept to clients in respect of insurance policies. Insurance is all about this promise being kept, and in terms of our funeral plans and policies, although dealing with death can be extremely difficult, the part of my job that I have come to value most is when we can meet our promises to the families who have lost their loved ones.

In South Africa, the topic of death is taboo in many cultures. It is an unspoken subject, even though funerals are an important event for us. At Metropolitan, we recognise that death is as much about the living as it is about those who have passed, and I see every day the great sensitivity that is required in dealing with the administration of death, and the role that clear, comprehensible and relatable communication has in our work.

Communication is at the heart of all human interaction. Between family members, friends, and between service providers and their clients. Switching from the immediate gratification of FMCG, I have come to understand the true value of honesty and transparency in communicating the importance of financial issues such as debt, saving, and intergenerational planning.

I also have a bigger appreciation of how and where we communicate in the insurance services sector. FMCG is tangible, visible on retail shelves, where insurance is about long-term gain and security, and not even for the policyholder, who is not the one to benefit from their investment, given that the payout is only activated by their death. 

Post Covid-19, Metropolitan learned that communicating the clients in many cases online remotely is a channel that needed time and development. We now have fast and efficient WhatsApp communications with our clients, and in some instances have even paid out a valid claim in under an hour on this platform, leaving the bereaved the time to grieve, and the peace of mind that they can provide the funeral their loved one deserves.

But we are not only available online, we also remain part of communities, including employing agents who live among the people they serve, demonstrating our commitment to helping people understand the complex terms and conditions of insurance policies, both at the time of taking them out and later at the claims stage. Trust is implicit in all our dealings with our clients, and they must be able to place their trust in us to assist them through managing the business end of death.

With a year to learn our products and the regulatory environment in which we operate, I have found it is easier to have open conversations around death. Timing and empathy remain key if families and friends are to be receptive to hearing and understanding the importance of proper insurance cover, wills, and financial instructions.

My own father, in a forward-thinking move, called a meeting with the elders to discuss his wishes for after his death. This showed me that the pain of death can be significantly eased by talking openly about funeral and family arrangements before you die.

Sharing information about the paperwork that will be required after death is also important for making death a little less painful for the living. Since coming into this job, I have experienced many cases of our Metropolitan agents responding to bereaved relatives who are calling merely to establish if the deceased had a policy with us, or not. I have learned over the past year that it is kinder to your loved ones to furnish them with this information ahead of the inevitable.

During the course of my year with Metropolitan, I have also learned that a funeral policy does not just pay for the funeral. Having relocated for work to Johannesburg from KZN some years ago, I had always said that the expense of sending my remains back home would be too much for my family to bear. They, however, have always been insistent that we each be buried on our ancestral land, and I see now that having wishes that are counter to our cultural norms can be difficult for families to appreciate and understand.

Not everybody even understands the term ‘repatriation’, and so taking the jargon out of our communication with clients goes a long way in establishing trust and removing barriers to understanding the fine print of a policy.

I have come to recognise that death comes with unexpected challenges. Metropolitan’s advisors are trained to guide families through difficult conversations, even when they have never had them before the loss of a family member. Helping those who are left behind to understand funeral policies, wills, and estate matters is at the heart of the company’s service.

Exercising patience, empathy, and compassion is part of bringing your best self to work each day in our industry, even though you may be dealing with difficult and culturally complex matters. As a leader, I have learned to show up with compassion for both our clients and employees, which has made my entry into the sector so much easier.

What I have also learned on the job over the last 12 months is that funeral policies are not just documents that activate after death; they are dynamic, evolving agreements that protect families and ensure dignity beyond the grave.

The greatest gift we can leave behind isn’t just financial security, but clarity, preparedness, and peace of mind. Also, we need to remember that the person who takes out a funeral or life policy will not be there to enjoy the payout, but it’s important for us to make sure that their legacy lives on and that we honour their wishes with as much dignity and empathy as possible.  These are also the values we expect Metropolitan staff to bring to work each day, thereby breathing life into the business of death.

* Gumede is the chief marketing officer at Metropolitan.

PERSONAL FINANCE