Royal London Won't pay out

Kels100

I am writing this on behalf of my mum, my dad passed away in March this year very suddenly, He had a few life insurance policys which were never cashed in etc.
We sent off the claim forms with the policy details to only have one paid out to us, Royal London claim that they can't find details on the other policys, After a lot of phoning around and speaking to numerous different people, we got told that one was lapsed the year it was taken out nad the other was cashed in a few years later.
My father never lapsed any of his policys as we used to have a gentleman come to our house to collect the money and the other one, he has never cashed in any of his policys,so i asked the lady who i spoke to on the phone how would this of been paid out and she said in cash, a form would of been filled in, so i asked her they must have copy of this form so we could see who signed for the money and she told me no we don't keep them back that far, so they nor i have any proof this has been paid out.
We can't get no money from Royal London for these two policys and its very heart breaking for my mum, i don't know who can help us in a situation like this, so im calling out for your help.
Thanks

dunstonh

how would this of been paid out and she said in cash

If it lapsed, it usually means its without value. If its surrendered, that means it would have paid out a value. Did they say it had lapsed or had been surrendered?

Royal London, like most companies, stopped doing door to door collections in the 90s on industrial branch policies. They moved to standing order or direct debit. Many elderly customers didnt like that and ceased the plans or didnt understand what was going on and let the plans lapse/become paid up or surrendered. Records on industrial branch policies are not very strong given the types of plans they were. However, you would expect them to have basic details, like the date it was set up, the date it ceased. Any forms involved would be kept for 6 years (if we are talking 90s).

Kels100

They have told me one had lapsed and one had been surrended, he had about 3 or 4 in total. Another thing was he wasn't old he was only 55 when he passed away in March, so he wasn't bothered about someone collecting it etc, what we want to find out is who surrendered this cash and they should still have proof of who signed for it, my mother has now got nothing for this as they are refusing to pay and i don't think this is acceptable if the cant prove who had the cash in the first place.

lleck

If he still had them there should be direct debits going out of his bank account to pay for them, have you checked an old statement ?

dunstonh

i don't think this is acceptable if the cant prove who had the cash in the first place.

When did they say the policy was surrendered?

If its recent then they will keep a record. If its a long time ago then there wouldnt be.

Kels100

They reckon it was surrendered in 1976.

Jennifer_Yellow_Hat

Is there any evidence that your father was still paying for this policy after 1976? Cheque stubs, statements etc?

Kels100

im not to sure, there wouldn't be after that date no, because of how long ago it was,there would only be recent one bank statements, as we dont have any of the books for them anymore

dunstonh

1976 - In which case give up now.

They dont have to have documentation going back that far. its way past the statute of limitations on any claim you may make and you would be expected to provide evidence of non-payment.

You have no way of knowing what your father did then and Royal London wouldnt be expected to either. Also, most of their plans would have been 10 or 15 years with a payout on maturity. So, even if it had gone to the end it would have expired long ago. The amounts would have been very small as well. Typically in the hundreds of pounds range.

Kels100

So are you basically telling me that i can't do nothing about it ? This has left my mother with nothing and i don't think this is right.

dunstonh

So are you basically telling me that i can't do nothing about it ?

yes. Its far too long ago and you have no evidence of wrong doing and documents will be long gone.

This has left my mother with nothing and i don't think this is right.

I don't mean to sound cruel here but I post without the emotion that you will have. Your dad should have thought about your mother and what would happen if he died. It is no-one else's responsibility. Unfortunately, many spouses are put in this position each year and to be honest, a policy value on maturity of a couple of hundred but early surrender likely to be much lower wouldnt make the slightest bit of difference to your mum. You may be upset that your mother has nothing but that is not the fault of Royal London.