Denise Ganas vows to continue fighting Momentum despite premium payout
The insurance company has come under fire for declining to pay R2.4 million to Nathan Ganas' family, saying he failed to disclose his health condition before his death.
JOHANNESBURG - The widow of the man at the centre of a Momentum life insurance claim says she will continue to fight for a full payment from insurer Momentum and rejects the repayment of her premiums along with an offer not to have to pay back the funeral benefit.
Denise Ganas confirmed on Monday afternoon that Momentum had repaid the premiums and told her she did not have to repay the R50,000 paid out as a funeral benefit.
The insurance company has come under fire for declining to pay R2.4 million to Nathan Ganas's family, saying he failed to disclose his health condition before his death.
Ganas was shot dead outside his Durban home last year.
The company argues that granting Ganas' family an insurance payout would set a precedent for other customers to withhold material information.
His wife Denise has told Talk Radio 702's Joanne Joseph that says she received a call on Monday afternoon.
“I received a call at about 3 pm today, he advised me that they’d put the premiums into my bank account and have decided not to ask for the R50,000 back for the benefit.”
Momentum says Ganas knew about his high blood sugar levels before signing with the insurance company.
But his wife denies this.
“According to Momentum now, if my husband had declared that he has high sugar levels, then they would’ve done the test. I know that the value of this policy, with the high premiums that I have been paying, medicals should have been asked for.”
LISTEN: Ganas's wife speaks out about Momentum
Earlier on Monday Denise told Eyewitness News while the medical checks her husband took in 2010, three years before his cover with Momentum commenced, show increased blood sugar levels, he was never diagnosed with diabetes and was never put on medication.
She said when her husband was advised by a broker to join Momentum, the company never took the initiative to run any tests apart from HIV screening.
“Nobody can be a diabetic from 2010 right until the time he died and not be on insulin or metformin.”
Not only was Ganas’s life cover payout declined, but Momentum also did not pay out for his education policy worth about R400,000.
“They’re saying it was in my husband’s name as the owner of the policy, although I was the beneficiary, it has also been declined.”
(Edited by Winnie Theletsane)
