# Refusal of credit union death benefit



## nellybaby (17 Apr 2019)

Hello I am hoping somebody may be able to throw some light on this situation.My Mother passed away last autumn aged 96.My father was a founder member of the C.U.in the town where I grew up and he and Mum were members there.In the mid 1980s they moved to a different town and again opened C.U.accounts . Mum was 65 when she joined the second  C.U. and closed her original account.She always kept savings in her account and she believed death benefit would be payable on her demise.We were told shortly after her death she wasn't eligible  but we discovered they had another ladies details (same name).We asked for the case to be reconsidered and more recently have been told that as Mum was a member before the death benefit scheme was introduced this made her ineligible. I cannot find anything to say that this is the case in their regulations.The only hunch I have is that as she was over 70 when they introduced the scheme they have disqualified her.Has anybody ever come across this situation or could anybody refer me to a set of rules covering this.Our family are perplexed to say the least and annoyed given that my parents were such loyal C/U.folk all their lives We do plan to ask for a more detailed explanation. Any information appreciated.


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## Palerider (17 Apr 2019)

Sorry for your loss, a great age but still difficult and this issues does not make it easier.

It should be in the credit unions rules, Ask for a copy, I know there is a term of years as member requirement as well as minimum balances required through that period but can't help besides.

Seems harsh at first read given she was a member of the 2nd credit union for 31 years.


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## Brendan Burgess (17 Apr 2019)

Hi nelly

Here are the rules according to the League

*Coverage & Eligibility*
To check if you are included you must ask your credit union. Most members can be included if:


They have joined the credit union before age 70 in good health or while actively and regularly carrying out their normal occupation or duties and,


They continue to be a member of the credit union and maintain the minimum amount of savings in their account as required by the credit union for inclusion in DBI.
Once you are included for DBI you will continue to be insured as long as you remain a member of the credit union and a premium is paid each year. This will be the case even if your health worsens and as long as your credit union keeps the service in place. Note the lump sum payable and amount of savings required in your account can change from year to year, so please check with your credit union.


So, did you mother join before age 70?  Yes.
Was she in good health? Presumably

So maybe they are arguing, that when the death benefit was introduced she was too old to qualify?

Have you got the reason for refusal in writing?

Insist on getting it in writing. And ask for a copy of the rules.

Then write to the Chairman and Board and ask for a review.

Even if they are technically correct, they should make an exception for your mother. 

And if they don't, go to the Ombudsman.

Brendan


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## nellybaby (17 Apr 2019)

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply and for looking at  the situation for me. Your reasoning coincides exactly with my own but I needed to bounce the situation off more knowledgeable minds.Your words are very reassuring and I will do as you suggest starting with writing to the Management.I have looked at every available set of regulations and nothing makes sense with regard to the decision in my mother's case. As yet we have nothing in writing as to how their decision was made.Will let you know the outcome.Many Thanks


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## Brendan Burgess (17 Apr 2019)

nellybaby said:


> As yet we have nothing in writing as to how their decision was made.



That is the first thing to do. 

When it's in writing, it may turn out to be a valid reason. Or it may be an incorrect interpretation which you can challenge.

Brendan


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## Elnino (18 Apr 2019)

Did your parents transfer their accounts from the old credit union to the new one or did they simply close their old accounts and open new ones themselves?

The reason that I am asking is that under ECCU rules if an account is transferred from one credit union to another in the same calendar month then the DBI cover is maintained and the new credit union should take into the account the date that the account was opened in the old credit union and any prior savings when making a claim. Normally the old credit union would send the new credit union a statement when doing a transfer to facilitate this process.


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## nellybaby (18 Apr 2019)

Hello Elniño.Thanks for your reply I have looked into that and they closed original accounts and opened new ones.My understanding was that each C.U.was a separate entity.The DBI did not exist in the 1980s when they opened the second accounts What has emerged from this experience is the dearth of available and detailed information about C.U.regulations.My Mother meets all the eligibility criteria as stated on the website.However there is nothing written about not being eligible for DBI if an existing member was over 70 when DBI was introduced.We have had conflicting info from counter staff as well.I generally feel there is a lack of transparency and as Brendan says getting written explanations is the way to go.It is so interesting to hear people's opinions in a wider forum


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## Brendan Burgess (18 Apr 2019)

Elnino said:


> under ECCU rules if an account is transferred from one credit union to another in the same calendar month then the DBI cover is maintained and the new credit union should take into the account the date that the account was opened in the old credit union



Hi Elinino

That is very interesting. I doubt if many people know that. I have always thought that the Credit Unions were all separate as nelly says.

Do many people move credit unions?  

Brendan


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## Monbretia (18 Apr 2019)

I'd imagine that even though they are all CUs are separate entities the insurance policy of DBI is an umbrella policy that covers all credit unions who choose to sign up for it.  The insurance policy is not issued and covered by each individual credit union on it's own so the overall rules of the policy apply to all.

From a logical point of view it would look like when it was brought in it provided cover for anyone under 70 at that date so that might be what is catching her.  The present rules are that you open an account before age 70 so that covers that but maybe the insurance company just had a blanket rule at start up that everyone had to be under 70, wonder is there anyone/anywhere at this stage that has the original details.

Either way I'd follow Brendan's advice and get it in writing and appeal to whoever you can as they may well make an exception who knows!


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## Elnino (18 Apr 2019)

Brendan Burgess said:


> Hi Elinino
> 
> That is very interesting. I doubt if many people know that. I have always thought that the Credit Unions were all separate as nelly says.
> 
> ...



In my own experience very few even though is relatively simple to do so.

As Monbretia said the commonality comes from the ILCU/ECCU's same DBI product being cross sold to multiple credit unions. However, as per a different post, more and more credit unions are dropping it altogether or scaling back benefits and increasing eligibility requirements for cost saving reasons.


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## nellybaby (18 Apr 2019)

Hello all.I had not heard about the ECCU until I read Elnino's &Montbretias replies.I managed to find a general history of its development and it does appear to be an umbrella group covering all C.U.s.The decision in my mother's case may have been made centrally not locally so I will contact the League of Credit Unions to get details of what happened when DBI was introduced.There must be other families who have come across the same situation.I am so grateful to you all for replying


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## HollowKnight (29 Apr 2019)

Brendan Burgess said:


> Do many people move credit unions?



I did this about three years ago. I moved from north Wicklow to north Dublin and decided to support my local CU. It was very simple. Filled in a form, and about ten days later my balance was transferred.


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## sooty (1 Jul 2019)

Just wondering "nellybaby" how you ever got on with this.   Both my parents passed in 2016 and both had been very active credit union members all their lives - it was never mentioned to me when i left in the death cert or anything like that.  I am wondering should we have been entitled to it?


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