5 top claims mistakes policyholders make

You took out your 1Life Insurance policy to provide for your loved ones when you pass. Your life cover pay-out on a valid claim will take care of their living expenses, and a funeral policy pay-out will cover the costs of a beautiful send off for your family members. But will your or your family’s claims be approved? Are you at risk of a reduced or rejected claim? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Read on to find out how you can ensure your loved ones get the money they need quickly and without any delays by avoiding these top 5 claims mistakes!

We’ve made it easy to submit claims!

For a quick and convenient claims experience don’t miss out on the new claims page on our website. You can now submit a claim online using the web form on the page, or if you prefer to chat you can send us a call me back from the page. Be sure to tell your policy beneficiaries all about it!

Claims mistake #1: Nominating a minor as a beneficiary

Minors, those under the age of 18, cannot be paid the proceeds from an insurance policy. That can only happen once they are 18 years old. When you nominate a minor as a beneficiary it will cause delays that can go on for months.

Here’s how to avoid this:

Your 1Life Insurance funeral policy: Nominate an adult as the beneficiary. The beneficiary on a funeral policy will receive the pay-out from a valid claim when the main member passes.

Your 1Life Insurance life cover policy: Nominate an adult as a beneficiary or set up a trust for minor beneficiaries. A trust will come into effect on your death and will manage the proceeds of a valid claim pay-out and ensure the funds are used according to the wishes and instructions as outlined in the trust documents. You should consult a financial adviser, lawyer or fiduciary expert to help you set up a trust.

Claims mistake #2: Not submitting clear documents

It’s quick and easy to take photos of documents on your phone and send them to our claims team. But those images have to be clear! If they are not, we have to ask for them again. Result - delays in your claim!

You can avoid this by:

• Taking a photo of documents with your phone directly above the documents, not at a slant.
• Making sure your photo covers the entire document, with no numbers, photos or barcodes cut off.
• Taking the photo in bright, even light so there are no shadows or shining spots on the image.
• Reviewing your photo before you send, if it is hard to read take another shot!

Claims mistake #3: Not submitting bank confirmation details

1Life Insurance pays the proceeds for a valid claim into the South African bank account(s) of the beneficiary or beneficiaries. Making sure the correct beneficiary receives the pay-out is critical, so we check and verify that we have the right bank account details. That means we need confirmation of the bank account, either:

A bank statement not more than three months old

OR

A bank confirmation letter, that you can request from your bank or download on a banking app or online banking service.

Claims mistake #4: Not paying premiums when they are due

This can also be a reason why claims are declined and even one outstanding premium can delay the claims process. Premiums on your 1Life Insurance policies need to be paid when they are due. If premiums are not paid on time, or a missed premium not made up in the grace period of 31 days, the cover can be suspended and policies can lapse or be cancelled. If this happens a claim can be declined. If a claim is not declined, outstanding premiums can be deducted from the sum assured, which means the pay-out for a valid claim will be lower than expected.

There is only one way to avoid this: pay premiums when they are due!

Top tip: Speak to your financial adviser or a skilled 1Life Insurance consultant if you are struggling to pay premiums on time. You can also read these blogs on how to make your premium affordable and how to make up missed premiums.

Claims mistake #5: Waiting too long to claim

Claims for life and funeral insurance policies need to be made within 6 months of the death of a life assured or member. Some beneficiaries wait longer than this to claim!

This happens more often than you may think. A loving family member takes out a policy, but they don’t tell the beneficiary or loved ones about the policy. When they pass away the family doesn’t know there is a policy they can claim on, only finding out months later when it is too late to claim!

You can avoid this by:

Telling your family the details of your policy, including what it covers

AND

Ensuring your beneficiary knows how to claim!

Make your claim easy

Claiming can be quick and easy! Our 1Life Insurance claims team will help you through the process and you’ll have a dedicated claims consultant to deal with all your queries. Play your part and avoid these claims mistakes and your loved ones will have the funds they need, when they need them!