AON long delay in getting pension paperwork

dunstonh

But clearly they have discretion?
This must be the case considering that the first pension was paid by the unnamed insurer on production of the interim death certificate.

And  I found the the nature of the communication sent by Aviva to the widow very disturbing.

The article doesn't detail the communication by Aviva.  It just refers to a communication and her interpretation of that communication.    Remember these types of articles don't have the best record when it comes to giving factual information.   They often try to present the "firm" in the worst light and the consumer in the best light.  So, we have to accept that interpretations and reality may be different.

What the other insurer did doesn't really matter.     It was a small value and could well be below the threshold for enhanced checks with that provider.     It may have been missed by the other insurer or they have a different policy when it comes to inquests and how they treat the wording on the temporary death certificate.    The systems and controls  in place will usually be flowchart based.  ie. if inquest then defer payment until after the inquest confirms the beneficiary was not involved.    Each insurer will have its own "flow chart" to say what should be done.

The reason for the hold up is exactly what the provider told her.  i.e. to make sure she had no part in the death.    You would hope the communication of that would be done tactfully but there is nothing in the article to suggest it was or it wasn't.  Just that she took it that way (either in reality or for the purposes of sensationalising the article to help get a resolution).  I suspect Aviva looked at the fact there is a media article, and that it's a relatively small pension and made a judgment call to pay it out.        If you notice from the Aviva response, they made no apology for the phone call.   Just the delay and it isn't Aviva that is responsible for the delay.     

To me, it looks like one of those cases that which the correct systems and controls were followed but the inquest has taken much longer than normal and left it in limbo and created a delay that is uncomfortable.    Perhaps Aviva could add a few additional hops in the flow chart to refer to someone senior with discretions when time goes beyond a certain point or where the temporary death certificate gives enough information to make a judgement call (although we dont know if it did in this case).

xylophone

The reason for the hold up is exactly what the provider told her.  i.e. to make sure she had no part in the death. 

In a traffic accident while she was at work? And given that

"it has never been insinuated by any of the parties involved that ANY of his family had anything to do with his death?

And £8000 (total value of the Aviva pension) is hardly a king's ransom though it must seem a substantial sum to somebody early widowed with a child to support and apparently without much in the way of provision by the late spouse.

As for Aviva's response to Steve Webb: 

'We were very sorry to hear about the passing of your reader's husband and apologise for the distress caused to your reader over the delay in paying out her late husband's pension.

'It is always our intention to settle customer claims as quickly as possible, however, we do recognise that due to the ongoing coroner's inquest into the death this did not happen in a timely manner on this occasion. We can confirm that your reader has now received this payment.

'Whilst we made the payment in line with our internal processes, we recognise it has taken longer than we would have liked to pay your reader so we have arranged for an additional payment of £350 in recognition of any upset caused.

'We are looking at how we can make improvements to our internal process so that payments can be made as quickly as possible in future.'

And why should it suddenly  have been possible to make the payment after Webb's intervention? 

 It appears that he was not in a position to supply any more information than had already been supplied by the widow!

Just a case of Aviva's being shamed into action?

dunstonh

In a traffic accident while she was at work? And given that
"it has never been insinuated by any of the parties involved that ANY of his family had anything to do with his death?
And £8000 (total value of the Aviva pension) is hardly a king's ransom though it must seem a substantial sum to somebody early widowed with a child to support and apparently without much in the way of provision by the late spouse.

But what did the interim death certificate say?    

Cause of death unknown - subject to inquest....... maybe?  (or words to that effect) - the fact is that we dont know but that is what the person at Aviva would have seen and would have triggered the process to use.   Personally, I have only seen interim death certificates in life assurance claims, not pension but in each of those wait for inquest outcome was the default.

The provider will use the reason on the certificate as their guide.    They won't ask the police, relatives, friends or third parties involved.  Aviva stated that the correct process was followed.   

And why should it suddenly  have been possible to make the payment after Webb's intervention? 
 It appears that he was not in a position to supply any more information than had already been supplied by the widow!
Just a case of Aviva's being shamed into action?

Companies will often do something like that when the media is involved.  Even where there is no wrongdoing.

Aviva apologised for the delay but they cant control the length it has taken to the inquest.    There is certainly potential to improve their process "flowchart" but the fact there was no reference to the communication suggests there was not an issue with the communication.   It focused on the delay and that perhaps means it was a lack of discretion in their process (maybe no small fund exemption or an small fund value that hasn't been updated for decades!)