Poor service in the Claims Department!

Losing a family member is hard enough, losing a parent is by far the worst thing and to be left with a younger sibling that is now your responsibility to care for is a challenge so taking all this into account, you would expect Old Mutual to make your life a little easier. My mother passes away and left policies for us which I have completed the claim process for. I have been trying to get feedback from the claims department but have to wait on hold forever and never receive any email replies. My claim has been in process for over 2 weeks and seems like this entire week it has been waiting for authorization something I believe would take 2 days. I would appreciate if some urgency is shown as the funds are required to ensure my siblings can continue with his education. Just very sad that I have to chase them when I have enough to worry about!