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Momentum urges people to fully disclose health status when applying for policies

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Insurance company Momentum has again urged people to fully disclose details regarding their health when applying for life cover.

This after it bowed to public pressure and said it would pay a R2.4 million benefit to the widow of a Durban man who was killed while defending his wife during a hijacking.

Momentum says it will now pay an amount equal to the death benefit of up to R3 million – if the victim dies in a violent crime.

The pay-out will be made regardless of the medical history of the insured person.

The company had faced public outrage after it refused to pay the claim because the victim, Nathan Ganas, had not disclosed that he had high levels of blood sugar.

Momentum CEO Johan Le Roux says the new system is applicable retrospectively and it is contacting affected clients – including Denise Ganas – the widow of Nathan.

“The principle of proper disclosure when a client takes a policy [will] still stand. It is a very important principle and we can’t compromise that principle because it makes premiums unaffordable. So we did realise we need to find a solution for this specific issue and that’s why we designed a brand new … almost guarantees that we offer to clients and by making this retrospectively applicable, we can now also make a payment to Mrs Ganas,” adds Le Roux.

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