Sigh of relief for widow in R2.4m claim

The widow of the man who was at the centre of the Momentum debacle says her family can finally move on after the insurance giant agreed to pay the life policy claim.

“We didn’t have time to grieve as a family and now that this part is over‚ my family can finally start the grieving process and move forward‚” Denise Ganas said on Wednesday morning.

The insurance company initially refused to pay out the R2.4m life cover claim.

Nathan Ganas was shot dead in a hijacking outside his Durban home in March last year. However‚ the company said that Ganas had not disclosed his high blood-sugar levels at the time of signing the contract in 2014 and his contract was therefore void.

After his widow contested the company’s decision‚ Momentum said it would refund all of the premiums Ganas had paid and would retract its demand for the return of the R50‚000 it had paid Denise to cover funeral expenses.

With public outrage mounting‚ and many clients taking to social media to say they wanted to cancel their policies‚ the company did an about-turn on Tuesday afternoon.

Momentum said it was “providing a solution for the victims of violent crime”. It added that it had since reviewed its policies.

“It is clear from market reaction over the last two days that under certain circumstances‚ current industry practice creates the impression that insurers are looking for reasons not to pay a claim‚” it said.

“We have created a solution that will pay an amount equal to the death benefit [limited to a maximum of R3m] in the case of violent crime‚ regardless of previous medical history.

This will apply to all existing as well as future life cover clients‚” the company said.

Momentum said it would also identify clients who were affected by this policy in the past‚ contact their families and arrange payment.

Denise said she was still in shock and extremely overwhelmed.

She said she was expecting a Momentum staffer to contact her on Wednesday. She said the monthly premiums for the policy amounted to R2‚653.

“We haven’t seen anything in black and white yet‚ but I believe justice has been served. I told myself I am pushing and not giving up.”

She said she was grateful for all the support received from social media and the country.

“If it wasn’t for their support‚ encouragement‚ fighting for me on my behalf‚ and going viral like that‚ I don’t think I would have done it. It was truly overwhelming.”