Francine Guilbert recently suffered two consecutive strokes. Former service woman at the town hall of Wattignies, the octogenarian has contributed to funeral insurance for nearly 20 years with MBTP, his mutual, in order to financially secure his funeral. To date, in the event of death, the amount of his funeral expenses guarantee amounts to just under €6,000. €6,000 that either the funeral director or the beneficiary may receive to cover the costs.
Twenty years of dues for nothing
But from January 1, as explained the voice of the North, MBTP has decided to terminate all its funeral expenses guarantee contracts, including that of Francine Guilbert, “too loss-making”, according to the mutual. These €6,000 for which the retiree has contributed since 2002 (€30 per month), neither the funeral directors nor its beneficiaries will receive them in the event of death. “You should know that the funeral expenses guarantee is an insurance and not an annuity”, warns MBTP’s customer service. To summarize trivially, Francine Guilbert paid 30€ per month for 20 years to MBTP, for nothing. The €6,000 which was to be paid in the event of death evaporates at the same time as his contract. But the story does not end there.
“After many exchanges, Apicil, the parent company of MBTP, which offers funeral expenses guarantees, came back to my mother and me. They offered him a new contract, but with contributions of 111€ per month, for a guarantee amount of 4000€! It’s absolutely scandalous, ”grimes Myriem Guilbert.
For the magazine 60 million consumers, it is advisable to avoid any type of funeral contract with insurance, qualified as “ruinous investments” (in 2019).