cause of death alcoholic liver disease / life insurance won't pay

[Diamond101]

quick query...has anyone had a loved one pass away from cirrhosis (I did in October) and insurance are refusing to pay out?

It all seems so unfair on the people left behind who have lived with an alcoholic and the problems this brings, having looked after them through difficult and distressing times when the cirrhosis becomes end of life care and now lose out financially because it appears alcohol problems weren't declared...unbeknown to the spouse.

My husband was always in denial about his alcohol problems, as we all know it's the nature of the disease. I don't think he would knowingly have done anything so deliberate as to lie, it was more likely he didn't fully understand the implications and did not want to listen. Incidentally cirrhosis was not the diagnosis when the policy was taken out but there are entries in the doctors records which state advice to cut down on drinking and abnormal LFTs.. cirrhosis came much later way after the policy was taken out.

Where can we go from here? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I will of course appeal but I've been told the chances of a payout are low to nil...

[Millie09]

Hi diamond, sorry to hear of your.loss. i dont know of anyone personally who has passed to cirrhosis. Regards to insurance life cover , it depends on the company policy.reading the small print is so very important. I have 3 life policies but all for over 50s . They are with 2 companies. I did read their exclusions before i even applied. Its exactky the same as travel insurance.

I agree it is very unfair to be penalized with the disease but everything medically must be declared at time of taking the policy out. I have mild encephalopathy but i do not do any signing untill i have run it by my sister first as i can easily get confused. I hope you get things sorted.

[Hidden]

Sorry to hear of your loss.

When the policy was taken out, it would have been underwritten. In a significant number of cases linked to the answers on the application form, a GP/Specialist’s report is generally requested and this would then have helped the underwriters to decide whether any special terms needed to be imposed on the plan (eg exclusions or premium ratings). If the notes referred to increased LFTs along with advice on reducing alcohol intake, it might be worth asking whether/if this was taken into consideration when the application decision was made by the underwriter and if not, why it wasn’t.

Other point to note is that all material facts would have had to be declared at the time of application (eg truthful answers) but you can, if you haven’t done so already, request a copy of all the application records.

Hope this helps.