Poor service

Last year i lost my mum due to unforeseen circumstances. She had policies with Old Mutual and Old mutual told me it would take up to a year to review her claims. It has been a year and months when i send emails i get mo response. When i call I'm told my case is being escalated but months go by and i dont even know what escalation is in their terms. My question is how do families live after bread winners pass on for this long?