Urgent Assistance Required: Outstanding Funeral Benefit Claim

I am writing to request urgent assistance regarding the funeral benefit claim for my late uncle, who was employed by Prosec Guards and sadly passed away on 06 September 2026.

To date, he remains in the mortuary as the family is unable to proceed with funeral arrangements due to the non-payment of the funeral benefit. This has caused significant emotional distress and hardship for the family.

Although efforts were made by the family immediately following his passing, the funeral claim was only submitted to the insurer by the employer on 16 September 2026. This only occurred after my uncle's brother travelled from the Eastern Cape to the employer's offices, despite numerous attempts by my cousins in Cape Town to obtain assistance. Unfortunately, they were repeatedly sent back and forth without any meaningful progress.

We have since been advised by the insurer that they received the application form but require a beneficiary nomination form. The employer has informed us that no beneficiary nomination form exists on my late uncle's file and has indicated that there is nothing they can do, as it was allegedly his responsibility to complete the form.

However, I would like clarity on whether it is not also the employer's responsibility to ensure that all required employee documentation is properly completed and maintained on employee files, especially where such documents may be required to process claims of this nature.

Furthermore, my uncle was advised during his employment that an additional death-related benefit, funded through contributions from employees, would become payable in the event of death. To date, no payment has been received, nor have we been provided with any clear feedback regarding this benefit.

We contacted Florence, the Manager, who advised that the individual responsible for releasing the payment could not be reached because they had no network coverage. With respect, this explanation is difficult to accept, particularly from an established company, while a grieving family waits for benefits that are needed to lay a loved one to rest.

Adding to our frustration, when we submitted the funeral claim directly to Affinity immediately after my uncle's passing, the claim was declined on the basis that the employer was allegedly not compliant with contributions. We were then instructed to submit the claim through the employer, who has subsequently submitted the same documentation to the same insurer. This process has been confusing and has resulted in further delays.

My uncle has now been in the mortuary for over two weeks, and no funeral benefit has been paid. We therefore kindly request that this matter be urgently investigated and that assistance be provided to the family member handling the funeral arrangements regarding all benefits and payouts due.