This sponsored article introduces Metropolitan's new No-Lapse Funeral Growth Plan, a funeral insurance product aimed at South Africans whose incomes fluctuate because of informal, seasonal or gig-based work.

Using the example of Thabo, a young car wash business owner who previously lost funeral cover after missing debit order payments during difficult financial periods, the article highlights the challenges many people face with traditional funeral policies that lapse after missed premiums.Metropolitan says the new product has been designed to better reflect the realities of customers with unpredictable earnings.Customers can sign up through WhatsApp in a few minutes, with cover starting from an initial payment of R200.They then have up to 12 months to contribute a total of R1,500, after which the accumulated cover becomes permanently secured.

Additional contributions increase the amount of funeral cover available, with younger policyholders receiving higher levels of cover for the same contributions.

Once the permanent cover threshold has been reached, customers retain that secured cover for life, even if they are unable to make further top-up payments.

If someone cannot reach the R1,500 target within the first year, Metropolitan says it refunds 60% of the contributions made while allowing customers to restart without losing previous progress.

The plan also includes a referral programme through which customers can earn additional cover when people they refer continue contributing to their own policies.

Metropolitan says the product is intended to reduce policy lapses and rebuild trust among consumers whose financial circumstances often make conventional insurance products difficult to maintain.