Old Mutual Refusing to Pay Funeral Claim – Making My Mom Suffer After Losing Her Brother

My mother has a funeral policy with Old Mutual. Her brother (my uncle), who was also a beneficiary on the policy, sadly passed away at home on 26 March 2025. Ever since she submitted a claim for the funeral benefit, Old Mutual has done nothing but give her the runaround.

They are now refusing to pay the claim because they want a specific section of the claim form to be filled out by a doctor who certified the death. However, my uncle passed away at home—he was not in a hospital—so there was no doctor involved. The people who certified his death were ambulance personnel, and they have already provided a letter explaining that they are not allowed to fill out that section of the form. We also have a letter from the royal family confirming that he died at home.

Despite this, Old Mutual still refuses to process the claim, knowing full well that we cannot produce a doctor’s note for a home death. This is deeply frustrating and emotionally draining. Why should grieving families be made to suffer further, simply because of rigid and unreasonable claim procedures?

It’s now been over a month (going on two) since my uncle passed away, and Old Mutual continues to stall. We are asking: how long must people struggle to get the support they’ve paid for? This is supposed to be a funeral policy—why does Old Mutual make it so hard to access help during a time of loss?

This isn’t the first time Old Mutual has been called out for failing to pay out policies in good time. Why do our parents and elders have to go through this trauma after faithfully paying their premiums for years?