By Selloane Ntshonyane
- Funeral insurer AVBOB says a cyberattack crashed systems on 8 June but all 360 company branches remained open for claims.
- Some AVBOB policyholders say branches gave no help during the system crash and forced one family to take a loan.
Funeral insurer AVBOB says every policyholder received full funeral benefits during its system outage. But the policyholders who spoke to Scrolla.Africa say that is not what happened.
The funeral insurer said on 8 June that its systems were targeted by outside attackers in a cyberattack. The company says all 360 branches remained open. It says manual processes were in place to handle claims and deliver services throughout the disruption.
AVBOB corporate affairs general manager Adriaan Bester said no extra payments were requested from policyholders as a result of the outage.
“I can categorically guarantee that policyholders do, and will receive full benefits,” Bester said.
But a policyholder who spoke to Scrolla.Africa said she visited her local branch after the outage began and was told staff could not help her. Her family took out a loan to cover the cost of the funeral.
A separate family, whose case has since been resolved, told Scrolla.Africa they also received none of the services their policy entitled them to when they needed them most.
Bester said policyholders who reported missing payouts or services likely had policies that did not fully cover the funeral products requested. He said any shortfall would have been due regardless of the outage.
Policyholders with claims can email [email protected] or call 0861 28 26 21. Premiums can be paid through Pay@ at Checkers, PEP, SPAR and Pick n Pay.
Pictured above: A casket.
Image source: File
This story was updated on 11 June 2025. A family whose experience formed part of the original report asked to be removed after AVBOB agreed to resolve their matter. The broader pattern of complaints about service delivery during the outage, and AVBOB’s response to those complaints, remains on the record.
