South Africans are renting, and buying, dead bodies to make false funeral claims, a report by the Association for Savings and Investment South Africa (ASISA) says.
Life insurers rejected 1,915 funeral claims worth R176.4 million in 2018, of which 1,127 were found to involve fraudulent documentation.
Another 156 fraudulent claims showed syndicate involvement – and in seven cases beneficiaries were found to have caused the death of the policyholder.
Funeral policies don’t require blood tests and medical examinations and are designed to pay out quickly when an insured family member dies.
“Unfortunately, this makes it tempting for criminals and dishonest individuals to take out funeral cover for people who do not exist with the intention of later submitting claims using death certificates issued for dead bodies rented or bought for the purpose of committing fraud,” Donovan Herman, convenor of the ASISA Claims Standing Committee, says.
“If we allow
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