The purpose of having life insurance is that in case of the untimely death of an individual, their family does not go through any financial crisis.
But it is often heard that insurance companies hesitate while giving the benefits. In such a situation, many times relatives of the deceased lose all hope. A similar case has emerged in South Africa.
An insurance company, Old Mutual, allegedly refused to pay out on death benefits, saying there were problems with the paperwork.
According to reports, Sifiso Justice Mhlongo (46) died 7 November. After which the family reached the insurance company’s office to get insurance. But the insurance company was not ready to accept Sifiso’s death and demanded prove of his demise.
The family rushed to the insurance company’s office to prove Sifiso’s death. You can imagine how painful the whole ordeal must have been for the family who came to the insurance company’s office with Sifiso’s body inside a bag.
The story has since gone viral on social media. A video of the case was shared November 19 by a Twitter user. This video has been viewed more than 75 thousand times. The clip shows women in the bank with Sifiso’s body inside a bag and laid out on the floor.
https://twitter.com/ConfessionWhite/status/1196807260351213569
Placing the corpse on the floor, the women handed over paperwork for the man’s life insurance claim along with his ID and death certificate, local media reports.
Relatives claimed that benefits worth £1,700 had been delayed for nine days because of problems over paperwork, meaning important tribal rites for their uncle, who died at the age of just 46, could not be performed.
It is believed the body was returned to the mortuary after the death benefit had been paid out.
Old Mutual responded with a tweet of their own, saying the incident was “isolated but regrettable.”
“This has been most unsettling and we are sympathetic toward the family during this difficult time,” the company tweeted. “We can confirm that the claim was paid. Due to the sensitive nature of this matter, we will continue engaging directly with the family.”
