William Scott's family slam '˜rip off' insurance company over funeral payout

THE granddaughter of tragic William Scott has hit out at his life insurance provider on social media after claiming the family were being short-changed by the company over contributions towards his funeral costs.
William Scott. Picture: ContributedWilliam Scott. Picture: Contributed
William Scott. Picture: Contributed

Lauren McGovern claimed Mr Scott had made monthly £20 payments to his policy for more than 50 years before his death in December totalling over £12,000.

However, she said insurance giant Aviva were “getting away with” only paying the family £1,820 towards his funeral costs, adding they were refusing to pay out anything until January 30th.

Read More
Police confirm body found at Leith Docks is William Scott
Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Mr Scott, 90, was reported missing from his home in the Chesser area of Edinburgh on December 11, however police confirmed they had discovered his body in the Water of Leith around four weeks later.

Lauren claimed the family were due to pay a £762 deposit to the funeral directors today to cover cremation costs.

Posting on Twitter, she wrote: “As most of you are aware, my 90-year-old Grampa went missing on 11/12 & his body was found on 04/01. Today, we found out that @AvivaUK will only pay out £1820 from his life cover. He had been paying £20 per month for approximately 50 years. Originally, Sun Life sold the policy & Aviva bought them…”

“When my mum voiced her concern, the customer service rep ‘well, that’s it. He only paid £20 per month’. So, he paid around £12,000 for his life cover. They’ll only give us £1820 to bury him & they won’t pay it until 30th Jan…”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

She added: “The funeral directors want £762 deposit tomorrow. That’s the charge for cremation.

How are companies getting away with this? How is this ethically sound? He paid for this for 50 years, he thought he was securing his funeral costs…

“And now, after the trauma of his disappearance & subsequent death, we’re given the blow of this absolute rip off. @AvivaUK - you should be utterly ashamed. £1820.”

Monica Lennon, Scottish Labour MSP in Central Scotland, called for Aviva to take action.
In a tweet she wrote: “Please do what is right and reasonable @AvivaUK and spare @MrsCupcake79 and her family from any unnecessary upset at this horrendously difficult time.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Responding to Lauren’s tweets an Aviva representative said: “Please accept my sincere condolences for your loss and I’m sorry to hear of the experience your mum had whilst speaking with us.”

The rep added: “Please be assured we are looking into this.”


Aviva were unavailable for further comment.

Join our Facebook group Our Edinburgh to share images and news from and around the Capital