There are plans afoot to introduce a Funeral Expenses Insurance plan to Samoa after recent focus group sessions recorded a positive response to the idea.
But RNZ’s Samoa corespondent Autagavaia Tipi Autagavaia says families are more inclined to be traditional when it comes to funeral costs.
“When you talk about a funeral in Samoa, every Samoan living overseas knows exactly what they’re going to prepare to bring to Samoa.”
“Lots of money, lots of fine mats and lots of food because Samoan funerals are very expensive, I tell you.”
“I believe Samoa is very very very different how they feel about their loved ones when they prepare a funeral, whether they are a low income family because in Samoa everyone contributes, everyone shows their love of the person.”
He says it’ll take a few years for Samoans to catch on and consider insurance.
The two focus group sessions were organised by the Regional Disaster Resilience in the Pacific Small Island Developing States (RESPAC) and the Pacific Financial Inclusion Programme (PFIP).
Separate focus groups of employees and employers looked at the concept of funeral expenses insurance.
Participants agreed the insurance would be an attractive option. They said they would be willing to take up as it would help them deal with the high cost of funerals.
Affordability and trust in the organisation providing the insurance were the two main priorities highlighted as being important to them when deciding to purchase funeral expenses insurance.
Source
- RNZ
- Scoop
- PFIP
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