Matthew Kania's Discovery life insurance policy listed an unknown beneficiary.
Luba Resore/Garo Image
- A Discovery Life customer was shocked to learn that a stranger was listed as the beneficiary on his insurance policy, rather than his mother.
- After the issue was not resolved, he posted on social media.
- Discovery apologized and said they would have discovered the problem before paying, but they also changed their system.
- For more financial news, visit: News24 Business top page.
A year after taking out a life insurance policy with Discovery, Matthew Kanniah was shocked to find a name he didn't recognize listed as a beneficiary he didn't recognize.
This week, South African automotive and lifestyle content creator Kania chronicled her experience for her legion of followers on social media.
He said he took out a life insurance policy with Discovery shortly after the restrictions put in place during the coronavirus pandemic were lifted in 2022, and he plans to register his mother as a beneficiary. He said that.
He believed his mother would receive a lump sum of “several million” if something happened to him.
But when she checked her Discovery app more than a year after taking out the policy, she noticed a different person was listed as the beneficiary. He has no idea who this stranger is.
When she realized her mother was not listed as a beneficiary, she contacted Discovery, but no assistance was received. It wasn't until I contacted the company again in December 2023 that I was given a form to fill out.
In response to questions from News24, Discovery Life said the error occurred because there was a match between the details Kania provided to her mother and another person.
“When applying for insurance, Kania was unable to provide her mother's full ID number and her mother's date of birth was provided as an identifier, contributing to the beneficiary name discrepancy,” she told News24. Told.
Kania said she was frustrated that even though she had submitted the form, the wrong details were still reflected in the app.
He decided to publicize this matter in a post on X.
another day, another day @Discovery_SA Ruin. Now, since last year or so, or maybe a long time ago, my agent has added my mother as a beneficiary on my life insurance policy. When I signed up, I added my parents who have the same last name as me. It's very difficult not to do it. A new submission has been made… pic.twitter.com/ThLj99E0kc
— Matthew Kanniah (@matthewkanniah) January 29, 2024
“The only way I'm going to get anything done is by posting about it, because I followed the process, sent the email, and gave the reference number.”
His post on this issue regarding X attracted a large number of viewers.
He said he had also lodged a complaint with the Insurance Ombud, citing mismanagement following the mistake.
After disclosing the issue, he said it was now resolved, but he was still looking for a proper response from Discovery.
He said:
If something had happened to me within that year, how would I have dealt with it? Because, for argument's sake, I would now be incapacitated or unable to do something. , and some random person who is about to receive millions in disability payments.
He said it was highly unlikely that a randomly selected person would decline multi-million rand compensation if contacted, even if they knew they were not the intended beneficiary. Ta. Discovery Life said it had carried out the necessary checks to ensure that the mistake did not result in any erroneous payments.
It also apologized for the inconvenience caused to Kania and said it had changed the system to require patrons to provide their ID numbers.
“We commend Mr. Kania for reviewing this information and encourage all customers to periodically review their information as the situation may be changing. You can check the beneficiary's details through the insurance schedule or the discovery app,'' it said in a statement.
