Unjust Decline of an Active Policy Despite Consistent Premium Payments Since 2016 and a Single Missed Payment

Good day,

I am writing to request your urgent assistance regarding Sanlam's decision to decline the life cover for my father, for which I am the account payer (ID NUMBER ***)

I have held this policy since 2016, with a starting monthly premium of R668.00. I made regular payments until 2024, when the monthly premium increased to R1900.00. Due to unforeseen circumstances, I faced financial difficulties from November 2024 onward, making it challenging to meet the R1900.00 monthly payments. However, I had accumulated unallocated credits on my account, which Sanlam used to settle the premiums.

Currently, I have R1300.00 in unallocated credit on my account, which is insufficient to cover the R1900.00 premium. As a result, Sanlam marked the account as inactive. Despite numerous calls to the call centre and informing them that I would make EFT payments instead of monthly debit orders, the account remains inactive. According to the health assessment outcome, the policy is now declined, and Sanlam suggests my father reapply for a new policy.

My primary concern is the significant amount of money I have paid since 2016, totaling over 120k, which I now stand to lose. If the health risk is an issue, increasing the policy's monthly payments would have been a more reasonable solution than an outright decline.

I must emphasize that my father is still alive, and it is imperative that this policy be reinstated. His ID number is ***. They didn't even deactivate the account when I missed a payment; instead, they used my excess funds as a membership fee. Only when the excess funds were insufficient did they deactivate the policy.

Sanlam's response to my broker stated that they require a health statement for every life cover and reinstatement, as per the client contract, which states that if there are no premiums for more than 30 days, the client is no longer covered. They also mentioned that for reinstatement, it would be subject to medicals and an underwriting decision. Unfortunately, the underwriting team has decided not to reinstate the policy, citing the possibility that my father's health might have changed, making it too risky for Sanlam. Additionally, they have not escalated my case to senior management for further review as an isolated case.

Therefore, I kindly request that the policy be reinstated. Should there be any backlog premiums to be paid, I am willing to settle them promptly.

I have attached copies of all relevant correspondence for your reference.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. I look forward to your prompt response.

Best regards,

Hendry Williams