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Critical illness

banana1982 profile image
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Hello, following on from my previous posts - my Husband is now home and recovering well.

I need to contact our life and critical illness insurers in the week to let them know he's had a heart attack. Looking at our policy Heart attacks are covered with the standard severity definition i.e. Tropopin levels. On his discharge letter I can see no reference to these blood tests being recorded with my untrained eye, are these automatically taken and would our GP be able to advise?

He had an Inferior STEMI, two stents put in his Right Coronary Artery, another Stent in the left ventricle I think and we believe Mesh against the wall of his heart somewhere. His Ejection Fraction is 41% and unlikely to improve above this, and we were told there is a proportion of heart muscle that does not work.

The money isn't a life changing sum but it will help make his life much easier, do you think a claim is likely to be successful based on the limited information? I am trying to look at it as if whilst the money would help, if it's not severe enough for a payout then that's the real prize.

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banana1982
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Samson- profile image
Samson-

I would recommend speakers no to an independent financial advisor first, who will be able to advise & follow through with the claim on your behalf, eliminating any stress & hassle associated with this.

Their fees are around the £200 mark & well worth having somebody on your side who knows what they are doing. X

Kimb3 profile image
Kimb3

Hi. I had a heart attack last year. I made a claim on my critical illness, was quite straight forward I did it over the phone and gave them all the details on my discharge letter. They contacted my gp and the consultant I was under. I had to laugh because I was told they had to confirm the trop t levels with the hospital as they only paid out at a high level result. They phoned me and congratulations they can confirm I've had a heart attack!!! As if I didn't know. Anyway it did take prob 2 to 3 months but they paid out which took the stress off as I couldn't work for three months.

banana1982 profile image
banana1982

Thank you, I had no idea an IFA could act on your behalf but that's a good idea.

We are still waiting for a claim to go through when someone wrote our car off last year and that was bad enough.

He's a stay at home Dad so the money would allow him to get a car to make him a more mobile and get to a gym and cardio rehab (in due course) independently if he wishes. I did suggest he could always take us to Florida next year but I think that was a no.

NorthantsSteve profile image
NorthantsSteve

Personally I would try your insurers directly. The insurers contact your cardiologist and (with one of my policies) my GP (who I had to pay to complete the report). I had no problems getting them confirming that I had a heart attack. The diagnosis of a STEMI indicates that tissue death has happened and they’ll be able to find the Troponin readings that led to that diagnosis.

The claims are really straightforward. I did speak to my financial adviser to make sure I was claiming on everything I could. He said that nowadays insurers are keen to pay out quickly where the evidence is clear. It’s nothing like making a car insurance claim.

In my case it wasn’t a lot of money. But it has helped relieve some stress. Good luck.

NorthantsSteve profile image
NorthantsSteve in reply to NorthantsSteve

By the way. Check your mortgage/s for similar cover if you have one.

banana1982 profile image
banana1982 in reply to NorthantsSteve

Thank you, our critical/life insurance is all tied in with the mortgage.

Scout2017 profile image
Scout2017

Hi Banana - I had a STEMI and an out of hospital arrest in Feb and stents in two arteries. Life insurance company (Aviva) were very helpful, the forms were quite long but very straightforward, they check all the info direct with the hospital. Though the form didn't ask for them I also attached photocopies of all the discharge notes I got from the hospital. I had a full payout in a couple of weeks which has taken care of the mortgage and certainly made the premiums I've been paying for the last 20 years worthwhile! If you're really worried about forms then sure an IFA could do it for you, but they were not difficult to deal with at all, honestly. You could always ring them up and request the forms first and then if it looks too much then find an IFA, but it'd be a couple of hundred quid for not a lot otherwise! Good insurers are like good undertakers - they understand you don't need a lot of hassle. Fortunately the undertaker wasn't needed for me this time... ;-) Bill

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