How to Trace Insurance Funds

November 23 - In many cases, after a family member dies, those who are left behind don't have a clue about the type of funeral policy that the deceased had, or where to start looking for funds.

According to recent statistics, there is nearly R70 billion in unclaimed insurance, investments and pensions funds in South Africa.

Much of this money is still lying there because family members don't even know that they are due any payouts.

Advice given by Trace-Pol, a company that specializes in finding unpaid claims, is to begin by contacting the deceased person's employer.

This is the first step to find out which type of funeral policy was taken out and who to contact regarding payouts.

If the person was unemployed or no type of information can be obtained, companies such as Trace-Pol will undertake to do the work for them, for a fee.

Obtaining a death certificate is also important as it will be needed to access the funds through a court once funds are traced.

Funeral policies are relatively easy to trace and companies shouldn't have much trouble doing so. They usually charge around R300 for the service.

Other types of insurance covers and funds could take several months to track, according to Trace-Pol.

Finding these funds costs a percentage of the claim (not more than 5%), however most companies don't charge if no funds are found.

"When choosing an unclaimed funds tracer be wary of people who guarantee finding the money because they can't always be certain that there will be funds available," said chief executive of Trace-Pol, Grant Nyembe.