Public pressure compels insurer to pay full R2.4m

Nathan Ganas was killed in a hail of bullets trying to protect his wife, Denise, during a hijacking in the driveway of their Shallcross home. Picture: Supplied

Nathan Ganas was killed in a hail of bullets trying to protect his wife, Denise, during a hijacking in the driveway of their Shallcross home. Picture: Supplied

Published Nov 21, 2018

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After two years of resistance, public pressure has forced Momentum to pay out a R2.4million insurance policy to the family of a man shot dead in a carjacking.

The insurance company confirmed that it would now pay out the full amount to Nathan Ganas’s family.

Momentum buckled after a fierce media onslaught since The Saturday Star broke the story at the weekend. The coverage has resulted in a victory which paves the way for a huge policy shift in the insurance industry.

The insurance company had for two years declined to pay the family because Ganas had allegedly not disclosed that he had high blood sugar levels.

Now Momentum has agreed to pay his family and other families who might have been affected by the non-disclosure clause.

In a statement late yesterday, the company said: “Momentum is in the business of paying claims and we have therefore taken the criticism to heart. We have created a solution that will pay an amount equal to the death benefit (limited to a maximum of R3million) in the case of violent crime, regardless of previous medical history. This will apply to all existing as well as future life cover clients.”

The company said this guarantee would, with immediate effect, cover all life cover clients and will be applied retrospectively.

The company will now start a process of identifying families that were impacted by the same clause as Ganas and give them payouts.

Late on Tuesday night, Nathan's widow Denise said she was excited by the news.

“I'm so excited and I'm so glad other people will also have their claims paid out. I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight.

“... I would like to thank all the South Africans for coming out in support, it has meant so much to me.” Additional reporting by Tanya Waterworth and Sihle Mlambo

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