Beyond funeral policies: Let us invest in life, build generational wealth 

The recent Nedbank Namibia launch of a funeral insurance product allowing a single policyholder to cover up to 30 people, including immediate and extended family members as well as domestic workers, has once again placed funeral insurance in the spotlight. There is no doubt that funeral insurance serves an important purpose. Funerals can be extremely expensive, and insurance can provide families with financial assistance at a difficult and emotional time. However, this development also raises a broader question: Should our banks and insurance companies be placing greater emphasis on products that help Namibians build wealth while they are alive?

Financial institutions have an important role to play in improving the long-term financial wellbeing of our people. While funeral policies provide protection after death, there is an equally important need for products that help people save, invest, own assets, prepare for retirement, educate their children and create generational wealth.

Are we investing enough in life?

Imagine if investment and savings products were promoted with the same enthusiasm as funeral policies. What if more Namibians were encouraged and enabled to invest affordable amounts every month into retirement funds, education investments, housing, business ventures or other lonag-term investments? Even relatively small monthly contributions, when maintained over many years, can potentially become meaningful assets. 

Such investments can help families create financial security, reduce dependence on others and leave something valuable for the next generation.

We therefore need to ask whether our financial culture has become too focused on preparing for death rather than building financially secure lives.

The family dimension

Funeral policies can sometimes create complicated family relationships, particularly where relatives are insured without sufficient transparency or understanding of who is covered, who pays the premiums and who ultimately receives the benefits.

When a financial interest is tied to another person’s death, misunderstandings, suspicion, and resentment can arise. In extreme circumstances, this can potentially create opportunities for fraudulent or criminal activity.

This is not to suggest that funeral insurance itself causes crime, nor that people who take out funeral policies have bad intentions. 

Rather, it highlights why transparency, proper consent, ethical conduct, and strong safeguards matter when dealing with insurance policies involving family members.

A person’s life should never be reduced to the financial benefit that may arise upon their death.

Support loved ones while alive

Perhaps the most important question we should ask ourselves is: How are we treating our loved ones while they are still alive?

Families should support one another not only when death occurs, but also during periods of illness, old age, financial hardship and vulnerability.

Our elderly parents and relatives need our love, care, companionship, financial assistance and dignity while they are still with us. Sick family members need support, comfort and appropriate care during their most difficult moments.

Unfortunately, we sometimes see situations where people are neglected while they are alive, only for the family to organise an extravagant and luxurious funeral once they pass away.

This raises an uncomfortable question:

Why do we sometimes give our loved ones an expensive send-off when we failed to give them a decent and dignified life while they were alive? There is absolutely nothing wrong with giving a loved one a dignified farewell. Every person deserves to be mourned and remembered with respect.

But perhaps some of the money spent on extremely elaborate funerals could have been used earlier to provide that person with better healthcare, food, medication, accommodation, comfort and companionship.

A person should not have to die before we demonstrate how much we value them.

Better balance

This is not a call to abolish funeral insurance. Funeral cover remains valuable, particularly in Namibia where extended families often carry significant financial responsibilities when a family member passes away.

The issue is about balance and priorities. Our banks and insurance companies should keep offering products that protect families from the financial burden of death, but they should also make investment and wealth-building products more accessible, affordable, and understandable to ordinary Namibians.

Financial education should form part of this effort. People need to understand saving, investing, compound growth, retirement planning, risk and the importance of starting early.

Invest in life

The financial sector has an enormous opportunity to help transform the financial future of Namibian families. We need a culture where families ask:

“What can we do to improve our loved one’s life today?” rather than asking only: “What will happen financially when this person dies?”

Let us invest in our children. Let us support our elderly. Let us care for our sick. Let us help family members establish businesses, buy homes, save for retirement and build assets. Funeral insurance can provide financial protection when tragedy strikes, but investment can provide hope, opportunity and independence while people are still alive. 

Perhaps it is time for Namibia to move beyond a culture of simply preparing for death and build a stronger culture of saving, investing, caring, and creating generational wealth. 

Let us celebrate our people while they are alive, support them when they are vulnerable, and honour them when they pass on. The greatest legacy we can leave our families is not simply money to bury us, but assets, opportunities and a better future for those we leave behind.

*Loide Meroro is a sales and marketing expert. She writes in her personal capacity, and her views do not reflect those of her employer or any organisation. 

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