Arron Wilson was told his funeral fund would help his family – now his money is gone

‘This was for a funeral, to make sure you get a burial. And money being left behind for other loved ones.’ Arron Sumner Wilson lost more than $7,000 in the Youpla Group funeral insurer collapse. Photograph: Sia Duff/The Guardian

Ngarrindjeri man Arron Sumner Wilson has been to a lot of funerals, including his brother’s in 2017 and his mum’s in 2019. He knows how expensive they can be. So he thought he was doing the right thing by signing up to an Aboriginal community benefit fund he believed would cover his funeral costs, so his daughters were not saddled with a debt they couldn’t afford to repay.

Instead, he – along with 15,000 Aboriginal policyholders and their families – will likely be left with nothing as the fund has gone into liquidation, owing millions of dollars.