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R20 billion in unclaimed benefits: what is the insurance industry doing to rectify?

04 December 2015 Metropolitan

Financial services provider Metropolitan pro-actively addresses clients’ unclaimed pay-outs.

Earlier this year, Metropolitan launched their “unclaimed benefits project” to track policy holders whose policies have matured but – for whatever reason – never claimed their lump sum pay-outs.

This project has been positioned off the back of the latest findings of the Annual Report of the Registrar of Pension Funds, which estimates that the total value of unclaimed retirement benefits in South Africa reached around R20 billion owed to roughly 3.5 million beneficiaries in 2014.

“Since kicking off the project in July 2015 in the Tshwane, North region, we have already been able to trace 179 policy holders and have paid back nearly R8 million in claims – an early Christmas surprise for many people as most of these policy holders were unaware that they still had Metropolitan policies that were active!” says Herman Botha, Metropolitan’s Tshwane, North Regional Manager.

“In many cases the consultants, managers and financial advisers at our Client Service Offices have to collaborate and play detective to track the policy owners down (many of whom have changed contact details) and share the good news with them. Some of the clients who received their pay-outs choose to make reinvestments. Whenever we get some reinvestments, we regard it as an added bonus – the real reward is hearing the success stories and the difference we have been able to make in our clients’ lives.”

Homeless success story

Deborah Sookane, Client Service Manager at Metropolitan Middelburg/Springs, recounts how her Client Service Office received a report to trace a client in Springs.

“I asked the financial adviser to visit the client to have the claim documents signed. Unfortunately the adviser couldn’t find the address. After various phone calls, we managed to track the client’s cell phone number,” says Deborah.

“After explaining the reason for our call, the client indicated that he was homeless and sleeping under bridges. His wife had died in 2013 and he had thus lost interest in life. He has a disabled son who can’t get a state grant (allegedly due to red tape). As a result, they both live on the client’s state pension. The claim was successfully paid to the client at the end of August 2015, which was an amount of R44 000. The letter of appreciation we received from him was very heart-warming.”

‘Gift from Heaven’ for a retired couple

Paulina Leshaba, Client Service Manager at Metropolitan Middelburg, explains how they were able to eventually trace one particular client down.

“When our consultant phoned the client, his wife indicated that he wasn’t home as he went for a job interview. When the client returned home, he immediately returned our consultant’s phone call. He was shocked and surprised to learn that we owed him an amount of more than R55 000. He and his wife had recently lost R30 000 in a deal that had gone wrong so this amount – in his words – was a ‘gift from Heaven’. After he received his money, the client phoned the consultant to thank her, saying that she’s made a difference in a retired couple’s lives. Not only did he receive the money, but his job application was also successful!”

The way forward

“Identifying the whereabouts of inactive clients in order to pay out their unclaimed benefits is now integrated into our operations as a key focus.”

“We still have a long road to travel – with a substantial amount in unclaimed benefits on our books – but we are more determined than ever to make a difference in the lives of our clients,” says Botha.

“Aside from just meeting clients’ financial expectations, we also want to play a pro-active role in helping our clients achieve their dreams, and thus are committed to doing our part to resolve this issue at a national level,” he concludes.

Do you have unclaimed benefits? If you suspect that you or a family member may have benefits owing to you, it is worth placing an enquiry with your financial services provider. To get in touch with Metropolitan, please contact 0860 724 724.

 

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