No benefits from Gems

I was a member of Gems from 2007 to 31 Dec 2018 when I resigned due to ill health. On the 04 January 2019 my wife, who is still a Gems member on a separate account, and I visited the Pretoria branch of Gems to add me as a beneficiary. The consultant told us that there would be a three month waiting period for all pre-existing chronic conditions I have and up to a year for scheduled operations and other examinations. Let me add that on the 04 January my membership was still active with Gems and had to cancel before being added as a beneficiary to my wife's account. I found this outrageous since I have been with Gems for over ten years without break and even if there was a momentary break all the chronic conditions I have have been covered all along. If I should die during this waiting period, I would not be the first under Gems as I lost a friend 2018 in similar circumstances. I cannot be treated like a delinquent or new member to Gems. Whilst I wait for one year to elapse, my wife would be paying for my membership, I would be paying for my chronic meds from the chemist.