Formal Complaint Regarding Insurance Claim and Policy Amendment

I am writing to formally lodge a complaint regarding the handling of my recent insurance claim and the subsequent amendment of my policy with Old Mutual.

I took out an insurance policy with Old Mutual last year to cover two cars, two phones, and my house contents. My policy specifically states that there is no excess on both phones except in cases of car jamming, where a 10% excess of the claim amount applies.

In August, I lost one of my insured phones, valued at R15,000, and immediately reported the incident, providing the necessary case number from my policy. To my dismay, I was informed by Old Mutual that the replacement value for my phone would only be R9,000, citing a promotion in a shop in Johannesburg as the basis for this valuation. I find this unacceptable, particularly since I reside in KZN and have no access to this promotion. Furthermore, I was informed that I would be required to pay a R1,000 excess and that I would need to courier the phone to KZN at my own expense.

What is particularly alarming is that my policy was amended to include a R1,000 excess on August 15, 2025, after I had already reported the incident. Old Mutual has been unable to explain who made this amendment, and I was not informed of this change. As you know, any amendment to a policy should logically affect the premium, yet this amendment was made without any corresponding adjustment to the premium or my consent. I did not agree to this amendment, and I find it highly suspicious and unfair.

Additionally, Old Mutual has stated that they will only cover the phone's current market value, which I find unreasonable. If a phone is discontinued, this would imply that I would not receive adequate compensation, despite the initial insured value. This contradicts the purpose of declaring the value of the phone at the time of insuring it. I must emphasize that this particular clause is not included in my contract or in any fine print, and it appears to be an arbitrary decision by Old Mutual to avoid paying the full claim.

I request that Old Mutual honors the original terms of my policy, covering my phone at the insured value of R15,000 without the newly introduced excess. I also request a full explanation of how and why my policy was amended without my consent and why this change was not communicated to me.