Stubborn insurers add pain to families’ grieving

There must have been many people who enjoyed the squirming by insurer Old Mutual after an angry and frustrated family “dumped” the body of their relative at the company’s offices to protest delays in paying out an insurance policy on him.

Insurance is a grudge purchase at the best of times and the lack of sympathy from consumers for corporates who rake in their money from this line of business is exacerbated by the fact that it seems to many policyholders trying to make claims, that insurers will go out of their way to avoid paying.

A year ago, there was outrage after Momentum refused to pay out a life insurance policy to a widow whose husband was shot dead in a hijacking – simply because he failed to disclose in his insurance application that he was suffering from diabetes.

Old Mutual admits there were delays in the payout of the death policy in this latest case and has apologised to the family.

While we don’t doubt that insurance fraud continue to soar in this country, surely insurance companies need to nevetherless work double-quick to validate and pay out genuine claims.

To do otherwise is just to load further pain on those already grieving.

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