Clientele agent misled me, says man

A Soweto man has lost more than R5,000 after taking out funeral cover for his mother from an agent he met at a taxi rank in the Pretoria CBD in September last year.

Mandla Nyaqela got the shock of his life when Clientele told him that his late mother was not covered in his funeral policy.

But she was listed as a beneficiary under the policy.

It only covered Nyaqela and his three children.

Nyaqela, 41, believes the agent who sold him the funeral policy caused the error that has resulted in the R590 premium he had been paying for the past nine months going down the drain.

“I’ve lost so much money and I had to resort to taking loans to give my mom a decent funeral. I think the agent I met made the mistake of capturing the information I was giving him incorrectly.

“These beneficiary differences were not properly explained by the agent. He told me all the names I have given to him are covered. I was deliberately misled,” said Nyaqela.

Clientele has investigated the matter and decided not to compensate Nyaqela.

“We have investigated the complaint and have noted that Mr Nyaqela’s policy was taken out by means of the completion and submission of an application form. Having examined the application form, it is clear that Mr Nyaqela, did not elect to cover his mother, the late Ms Nosipho Ngqondo, but rather selected her to be the beneficiary on the policy,” said Clientele’s Lauren Kleynhans.

This policy arrangement meant that Nyaqela’s mother, 57, could claim on the death of the insured people (Nyaqela and his children).

“It is important to note that Mr Nyaqela signed the application form and confirmed that he understood the nature of the cover provided and the individuals being covered,” said Kleynhans.

Nyaqela had just finished a job interview in Pretoria in September and was on his way to catch a taxi home when he met a Clientele agent who was carrying a tablet and ready to take his details for the funeral policy.

“I was in a hurry and I knew that my mother was sickly and I didn’t have a funeral cover for her. I didn’t want a situation where I’d scramble around to raise money to bury her.

“I took the cover for myself, my mom and three children and I gave the agent my ID number and promised to give the ID numbers of the other four at a later stage as I did not have them at hand,” said Nyaqela.

On the same day, Nyaqela received an SMS from Clientele welcoming him and confirming that he had taken out their Funeral Dignity Plan.  

“Everything was fine and they’d debit my account on agreed dates. I started to panic when my mother started getting sick. I called Clientele to ask if my policy was in order and they assured me that it was and I got them the outstanding details such as ID numbers of the insured people, including my mother’s,” said Nyaqela.

His mother died on May 1 and he called Clientele to inform them.

“To my surprise, they said my mother wasn’t insured because she appears as a beneficiary in my policy. I was shocked. They then said they’d investigate the issue and come back to me.

“Their investigation took long and I had to ask my employer, where I work as a storeroom manager and driver, to loan me R20,000 and my fiancé also had to get R20,000 in order to carry on with the funeral arrangements. We are now sinking in debt,” said Nyaqela.

On May 18 he sent an email to cancel the policy.

However, it is still active and his bank account is still being debited.

Clientele said it has never received Nyaqela’s email of cancellation, which Sowetan Consumer has seen.

The company further said Nyaqela was not eligible for a refund.

“A refund of the premiums paid cannot be considered upon the cancellation of the policy as Clientele was on risk to provide cover if a valid claim (for a life insured listed on the policy) arose during the time the policy was active,” said Kleynhans.

“The policy is currently active and continues to provide cover for the insured lives listed on the policy. At this point in time we have not received any instruction to cancel.”

Nyaqela has now approached the ombudsman for long-term insurance to lodge a complaint.