City Press reader Busang wrote to us when he discovered that he and his late wife had a balance protection plan on their joint mortgage with Standard Bank. When his wife passed away in 2018, he did not know he was paying a monthly premium on insurance which would have settled the mortgage on her death.
Busang’s concern was that, under the terms and conditions it stated that if you did not claim within the first three years of the death, the claim would be deemed invalid.Even though our terms and conditions make mention that claims must be reported within three years, each case is assessed and based on its particular circumstances and merit. We are pleased that, in this particular instance, we were able to assess and pay the claim.
If the consultant had not informed him of this insurance, he would never have known to claim and been paying every month for something he was not aware he had.Insurance linked to debt is often sold without the customer’s awareness of its existence. It comes with many names, such as balance protection, but ultimately it is credit insurance.
Insurance on debt....what bullshit is this