Rejected funeral claim by Sanlam sky

Good day. My Dad has/had funeral policies with sanlam, Last year Sept he was retrenched ,notified Sanlam through his agent in Witbank branch, My dad's brother who he also covered in the policy passed away and the claim was rejected ,reason being it said to be lapsed .How ?because my Dad as soon as he was retrenched he notified them and where does the grace period of 6 months due to s retrenchment apply ?Uncle passed away on the 1 of Feb and the policy is said to be lapsed on the 31st .