Momentum to pay out life policy to Shallcross family
Momentum says they will be paying the family of Nathan Ganas, out of the life insurer's profits and not from their clients’ premiums.
The Shallcross father was killed last year in a botched hijacking outside his home.
The life insurer had, for more than a year, rejected his family's policy claim of R2.4-million saying Ganas, had not fully disclosed his medical and health information when he took out the policy.
Consumerwatch's Wendy Knowler explains that Momentum isn't saying it's reversing its decision on the claim but has made provision for policy holders who become victims of violent crimes.
"What they are doing is they are not approving the claim - they are not going back and reversing their decision. They are more or less bowing to public sentiment as their decision as not tracking well with the public. They have come up with a solution - that says they are not paying from their claim fund but out of their profits," Knowler said.
"For current claimants, future claimants and past claimants - people like the Ganas's who they feel that the claim is not valid because of the material non-disclosure of a medical condition - they will pay up to R3-million to those families who were struck by tragedy. It has to be a violent crime unlike someone who died in a car accident," she said.
In an official statement, Momentum says they have created a plan that will pay an amount equal to the death benefit (limited to a maximum of R3 million) in the case of violent crime, irrespective of previous medical history.
Read Momentum's full statement here.
