Funeral Policy Claim

I submitted a funeral claim on the 9th March 2026 and provided all required documentation, including the death certificate and claim forms. Despite this, the claim has not been paid, and I have not received a satisfactory explanation for the delay or refusal.

I have attempted to resolve this matter through Nedbank’s customer service on the 10th, 11th and 12th of March 2026, respectively, but the issue remains unresolved. On the 13th of March I wrote an email to the consultant by the name of Zandile Dlamini, whom I was advised was handling my claim, stating the trauma I was going through given that the funeral was postponed twice due to nonpayment by the Nedbank Funeral Claim. She did not even respond to my email nor acknowledge the receipt of my email.

The background I am currently residing in Johannesburg due to work; I am originally from the Eastern Cape. Back home I am responsible for my late mother's home. Since 2022 the deceased has been helping with the maintenance and domestic chaos in my late mother’s house. As I would go home month to month and at times every second month. I took out a funeral policy for him, as he did not have parents or siblings himself. The payments for the chaos he was helping with were paid in cash; on months that I did not travel home, I would send him e-wallet, as he did not have a bank account and kept giving me different phone numbers. Unfortunately, he got burnt and later had both legs amputated due to the nature of the burns and passed on. Now I am being punished by the Nedbank by not paying out the funeral claim, of which the premium was paid without fail.

Nedbank raised the issue that the late deceased was assisting me with domestic work back home, for which I took the policy for him. Now their argument is my cousin, which is true. I do not know a law or a statute that states that one cannot take a policy for a relative who is assisting with domestic duties back home, and it is not stated in their policy's fine print. I have not been to work for weeks; I am in distress and going through trauma and depression.

The funeral expenses have already been incurred, and the delay in processing this claim has caused significant financial and emotional distress to my family. I request that Nedbank urgently review this matter and process the claim payment without further delay. Please provide a written explanation if there are any outstanding issues preventing payment.

If this matter is not resolved within 14 days, I will escalate the complaint to the National Financial Ombud Scheme South Africa for further investigation.