What can I claim in case of death?

Funeral expenses
Past and future loss of support
Emotional shock

Funeral expenses

The reasonable and necessary funeral expenses can be recovered from the RAF. A claimant will, however, not be able to recover expenses such as flowers, refreshments and funeral programmes, as these are not regarded as reasonable expenses.

Past and future loss of support

Dependants, usually comprising, children, spouses and sometimes indigent parents, of the deceased will be entitled to claim for loss of support arising out of the death of a bread winner. Children can only claim until the age of dependency, usually 18 or 21 or until the child has completed his/her tertiary education, depending on the circumstances. In the case of a spouse, the spouse’s own income will be taken into account when the loss is calculated, and the spouse will only be entitled to loss of support until the retirement age of the deceased. An actuary is always instructed to calculate this loss.

Emotional shock

A person will suffer grief as a result of the tragic death of a loved one. To claim for emotional shock a claimant must have suffered psychological injury as well. Mourning is usually not regarded as a psychological injury. The general health of a claimant should have been adversely affected and he/she should have received psychiatric counseling or medical treatment for the emotional shock in order to succeed with a claim.
Back to top