LifeWise Contact Details

First, the domain trap. lifewise.co.za is not the funeral cover company. It is a Christian ministry website run by a couple in Pretoria, and it has no connection to the insurer. The funeral cover brand people are looking for is at staylifewise.co.za.

Official contact details

• General enquiries: 011 472 2020, hello@staylifewise.co.za
• Claims: 010 271 4105, claims@staylifewise.co.za
• Customer care: 010 271 4080, customercare@staylifewise.co.za
• Address: Somerset Office Estate, 604 Kudu Street, Allen’s Nek, Roodepoort, 1737

Three separate numbers, and they are not interchangeable. A claim phoned to the general enquiries line is a sales line taking a claim message; use 010 271 4105 and you reach the people who can actually see the claim.

Who LifeWise actually is

• LifeWise is a trading brand of Family Insurance (Pty) Ltd, registration 1998/012373/07.
• It is a licensed microinsurer conducting life microinsurance business, and an authorised Financial Services Provider, FSP 15959.
• It sits in the LEZA Group, the same group as LegalWise, which was founded in 1984.

Check the FSP number if anyone sells you this product. A licensed microinsurer is regulated differently from a burial society or a funeral parlour scheme, and the licence is what gives you a regulator to complain to.

You can claim at a LegalWise branch

LifeWise states that members may submit claims at LegalWise branches. That is genuinely useful if you are far from a post office or without data: LegalWise has branches in most large towns, and walking a claim form in beats posting it. There is also a downloadable claim form on the LifeWise site. Whichever route you use, keep a copy and get a reference.

What you will be asked for on a funeral claim

• The policy number and the date the policy started.
• A certified copy of the death certificate and the BI-1663 notification of death.
• The claimant’s identity document and proof of banking, in the claimant’s own name.
• Do not send original documents anywhere. Certified copies only.

Reporting misconduct

The group runs an independent whistleblowing line at 031 308 4664 and leza@whistleblowing.co.za, operated by an outside provider rather than by the company. That is the route for reporting an agent selling policies dishonestly or debiting people without consent.

If a claim is turned down

• Ask for the decision in writing, with the clause relied on. Waiting periods and non-disclosure are the two usual grounds.
• Exhaust the company’s internal complaints route first.
• A funeral policy complaint that is still unresolved goes to the National Financial Ombud Scheme, free of charge to you.