SANLAM - Live With Confidence - it's just a motto, we don't really mean it.

SANLAM LIFE INSURANCE Live with Confidence - It's just a motto - we don't really mean it. Beware of taking out death cover with this company. My father died on 26 September 2023. My brother and I are the appointed Executors of his estate. My dad owned a Sanlam policy worth a considerable sum, which he left entirely to my mother. On the 18 October 2023 I submitted the required forms to Sanlam to claim my mother's inheritance. I received no response. I called Sanlam at the end of October to query the payment, I was told that there was a cession over the policy in favor of FNB. I was reassured by Sanlam that they would deal directly with FNB to have the cession lifted and report back to me. Sanlam did not report back. I called again and was told that they had not received a response from FNB, but that they would report back to me in due course. They did not. I decided to wait until the letters of Executorship had been issued by the Master of the high court, which they were in July 2024, upon which I immediately called Sanlam again. Sanlam admitted that they had not pursued the matter at FNB at all in the interim. After a feeble apology Sanlam again agreed to take up the matter with FNB. I was shocked to discover that what they actually did do was to write to me to tell me that they have effectively washed their hands of the matter and that the problem of getting the cession lifted by FNB was now my problem - or by extension my 89 year old mother's problem! I quote verbatim from an email from Sanlam's Maxie van Wyk, sent to me on 9 July "As Executor it think the best will be for you to contact FNB and ask to be transferred to their securities department which deals with cessions."

Because I am in a position to act on my mothers behalf, I have now resolved to enact the services of the life Insurance Ombudsman. Both Sanlam and FNB have laid bare for me (and now you also) the ugly underbelly of the life insurance industry. They both laud their caring nature to the public, but are in reality both terribly awful. After 9 months they have not been able to discover between themselves weather the cession is still in force or even against what the cession was issued. It has become patently obvious to me that neither FNB or Sanlam are willing to resolve the matter, preferring to fob off an 89 year old widower in her attempt to claim what is rightfully hers – I will be writing to the Ombudsman , who I hope has real authority to get them to act. So be very cautious when investing with Sanlam, who have not once lived up to their stated motto of "Live with Confidence - its not just a motto". It has always been myself who have had to follow up with Sanlam - and their response.. "sort it out yourself Mister - we really don't give a damn".