Following a decision made by FNB Life that no longer requires beneficiaries of the insurance distributor to submit death certificates in order to obtain funeral insurance payouts, family squabbles over death certificates and policy claims are set to become a thing of the past.
The company said this was because obtaining and verifying death certificates is now done faster through the National Population Register, a division of the Department of Home Affairs.
As much as this development eliminates squabbles, especially among black communities in the townships, it also vastly improves the speed at which beneficiaries are paid out for valid funeral insurance claims.
“Being granted access to the National Population Registry significantly benefits funeral policyholders and their beneficiaries. It is now easier to check if policyholders are deceased or alive, and once we establish that a policyholder is deceased, we proactively contact the listed beneficiaries to process their payout,” said Lee Bromfield, CEO of FNB Life.
“To date, we have identified nearly R2 million in potential claims which beneficiaries have not submitted, and of those we could contact, R300 000 in claims has been paid to beneficiaries who didn’t know their loved ones had funeral policies,” Bromfield added.
Even though the registry can efficiently be used to verify certain information about claimants, Bromfield said it is still important for policyholders to update their personal contact details and those of their beneficiaries.
Details: 087 312 5904; LStuurman@fnb.co.za
