Unethical and unprofessional conduct of Mutual and Federal/ Strategic Insurance Systems

Mutual and Federal Risk Finance, through its subsidiary Strategic Insurance Systems (SIS), is the worst vehicle insurance provider I've come across. One should think 5 times before signing up with them. What I've experienced with them through a claim process that's still underway 67 days without no prospect of closure is beyond appaling. It has exposed how unethical and conniving they can be to jeorpadise your claim at all costs so that they don't pay in the end.

Can you imagine finding out from a 3rd party that your insurance has rejected your claim but to you the insurer keeps insisting a decisions hasn't been made? Isn't that been taken for a ride?

*History* My first bad experience with Strategic Insurance Systems (SIS) happened in 2019. I was hijacked but fortunatly the car was found.

However, the car was found to have been damaged and insurance had to step in and get the car repaired. You can imagine how traumatic a hijacking incident can be so imagine my surprise at the inhumane treatment I was subjected to. When SIS was investigating the claim, they treated me as if I was a criminal and not the victim. The line of question was beyond insensitive. Furthermore, they took their time to approve the claim.

There were items in the car that were stolen but they refused to pay these out despite having comprehensive insurance with them. They even refused to payout the phone until the investigation was completed and I had to fight tooth and nail before they could budge on replacing the phone.

They further more did not want to pay for Laptop and they stated that it was not insured under the right category. After fighting with them again and showing them that I had insured it under the right category they paid out for the laptop. Can you imagine the number of customers they have defrauded because of this who weren't aware of what their cover entitles them to?

Lastly, but certainly not least, they're in partnership with incompetent panelbeaters who take more time than they should to fix a vehicle.

Based on this experience and how I was treated, I should have known not to continue being insured through them but I did. And now I regret it.

*Current case*

This year, two years after the hijack incident, I submitted a claim as my car was involved in an accident.

The first communication I received was that my claim will be investigated because of the value of the car. Alarm bells - they approve claims based on the value of your car and not the merits of the case.

Anyway, from day 1 they gave me a very strong impression that they were not keen on paying for my claim. It has now been 67 days since my claim was submitted and I have not received any significant feedback.

I escalated this matter to the Garth Napier, Managing Director of Old Mutual Insure, Antonia Oakes, Head of customer experience and responsible business and Karen Naidoo who is the Managing Director of MFRF.

Despite their intervention and them stressing 'the importance of the matter' my claim has still not been finalised 24 days after our interaction since I alerted them to this matter and now exactly 67 days since the claim was registered.

It has now been two weeks since the escalation and nothing significant has happened since I brought it to their attention. For a matter that has been on going for two weeks surely a Managing Director or a Head customer experience should be able to give you a significant response within two weeks, however nothing.

I chose to insure with Mutual and Federal/ Strategic Insurance Systems to buy convenience and peace of mind. This experience has unfortunately yielded the opposite for me. Is it fair to have to live with uncer*****y for so long? To continue paying insurance premiums but the insurer has done absolutely nothing for you in return? In these difficult times, is it fair to continue paying car instalments for a vehicle not in your possession because the insurer is dragging out the process without any reasonable explanation for the delay and broken promises of date of final revert? Is it fair that in the midst of all of this, one still has no means of transport and is reliant on expensive car hire.

I've mentioned this before and I will mention it again. I'm convinced that Mutual and Federal/ Mutual and Federal/ Strategic Insurance Systems is operating from a place of bad faith with the intention to reject the claim on the grounds of baseless reasoning hence the dilly-dallying in finalising the matter. Unfortunately, I'm being victimised and absorbing unbearable stress as all of this unfolds.

To show you how much of a ride I've been taken for since we spoke. Palesa Mafoko, Senior Specialist of Business development promised to provide me with the outcome on the afternoon of Monday, 12th of April. She called to inform me that she will give me the outcome on Wednesday the 14th of April, pushing out the deadline by two days. Then, when Wednesday came, I was promised to get the outcome on Thursday the 15th of April - deadline had now been moved out by 4 days from the initial date that was provided. Since then, I have not received communication meaning today is the 13th day after initial deadline and counting.

I believe that this conduct by Mutual and Federal is beyond unacceptable. I've just been fortunate that I have financial means to hire a car for this long, which has cost me a fortune to date, continue paying for car instalments as per my obligation to the bank and keep up with the insurance premiums during the claim process. However, my heart goes out to all other customers who have experienced this delay from Mutual and Federal and they did not have the financial luxury that I have - which had dried up now unfortunately. I now have to share a car with my mother and father as I can't keep up with car hire costs any longer.

If you are looking for peace of mind do not insure with Mutual and Federal/ Strategic Insurance Systems. I have learnt the hard way twice.