Nanjay

[Nanjay]

Hello everybody I have been searching all over the internet to see if I can find some help. My husband died aged 60 of a sudden heart attack in July. I am very distressed at losing him as we had been married for 43 years and I am having some difficulty adjusting. My husband had a stroke in November 2007 and this caused his heart to become enlarged and this went undiagnosed and caused his death. My husband had always been obese and in March 2006 when we remortgaged our house we completed an application form for Mortgage protection. He gave his then weight as 18 st. 6 lb which would have returned a BMI of 36 and would be clinically obese. He declared my diabetes. They gave a loading for the latter, but not for his weight (which surprised him, at the time.) In September of that year he weighed in at the doctor's at 23 1/2 stone so they have indicated they are unhappy at paying out on the Policy as they do not believe his weight could have increased so much in such a short space of time. they have not given me an outright refusal yet but they keep wanting me to talk to them on the telephone, which causes me great distress. they have written to the doctor twice and he has told them that in September 2006 he had not weighed my husband for several years. My Probate Solicitor has told me to do nothing until they contact me again. I am 61 years old and this is causing me financial hardship. He was honest about his obesity and his weight did used to fluctuate quite a lot where he tried to get some off but could not keep it off for long. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated as this is doing my head in!!! Tnx.

[tiglet]

Hi Nanjay and welcome to the forums.

 

I am very sorry for your loss - it must be very hard on you.

 

This isn't my area, but I'm sure someone will come along very soon and give you some advice.

 

My thoughts are with you.

[SOD'EM]

I would double check with the GP first to make sure he has told them that he hadn't weighed your hubby for years.

 

My thoughts are with you also at this sad time.

[Nanjay]

Thank you for your kind replies. My husband's GP has kindly kept me in the picture regarding all his responses to their queries. I am having to phone them today, so fingers crossed. This annoys me, that they are witholding a lot of money which will make a big difference to me in my rapidly approaching old age, yet I am expected to keep ringing them on a premium rate phone number. My husband was a big man in every way, and he would be upset to know I was being treated like this so soon after losing him.

[Mr lex]

I hope it goes well for you Nanjay, let us know how you get on. We are all thinking of you at this time.

 

Lex

[SOD'EM]

Nanjay, use this link to get rid of Premium Rate numbers. It is a Godsend of a sight. Just click on the link below and type in ANY Premium Rate number. 0845, 0870, 0890 etc...etc...

 

99 times out of 100, it will give you an alternative 01, 02, or 03 number. Sometimes even a free 0800 number which won't cost you a penny. I use it to ring my bank, doctors, electric, gas. You name it, I use it. The site is free to use so enjoy.

 

SAYNOTO0870.COM - Non-Geographical Alternative Telephone Numbers

 

If you find this useful, can you click the scales on the left of my post and leave a comment please.

Edited October 1, 2008 by SOD'EM
typo

[Nanjay]

I phoned the woman today and was given a message she is referring the case to someone more senior and will get back to me later on in week. I will post again when I hear back from her. - Nanjay

[SOD'EM]

Lets hope whoever it is listens properly and it's not a case of Chinese Whispers.

 

Good Luck

 

Did you get a cheaper number to ring off the website I gave?

[Mr lex]

We will keep looking out for you Nanjay, good luck.

 

Sod'em, you should put that link in the Bear Garden or even the telecom forum

 

Lex

[SOD'EM]

 

Sod'em, you should put that link in the Bear Garden or even the telecom forum

 

Lex

 

Will do

[Nanjay]

Actually I rang her from work so it doesn't get much cheaper than that! It makes me feel that they are attacking the integrity of a man who is no longer here to defend himself at a time when I, his wife, feel vulnerable. I dread to think how a really elderly person would cope. I am only 61, still working and all my faculties are - hopefully - largely intact, although as a legal secretary my job is not 100% insecure in the state of the property market. These people work in little ivory towers without realising the effect they have on people's lives. So uncaring and careless. Update soon! Nanjay

[Lula]

Hi Nanjay, you really have my deepest sympathy on the loss of your husband, and now this, I am sure that he would be in a spitting fury if he knew that this was happening to you. You need to stay strong and fight them all the way.

 

You know, I cannot remember the last time I was weighed by my doctor, why would he weigh me? and my weight fluctuates greatly too, I cannot see why they are having a problem with this, lots of people are like this

[Nanjay]

My husband was overweight from when he was in his 20's but late in 2006 I started becoming concerned that this would start to affect his health so I asked him to go to his Doctors about it, and I went too, hence his being weighed then. I was also very overweight until I developed diabetes which can, not always, act rather like the Atkins diet on the body. I dropped 4 dress sizes in a year. Because once diagnosed I stuck to a rigid eating plan and controlled both the weight and the diabetes, and felt better for it, I wanted my husband to feel good like that too. Thats all. He was a foodie and a bit of a couch potato but that was his choice. He did not smoke - hated it - and was a very occasional drinker. He was also great fun socially and as a companion to me and our family. You are right he would have spit fury over the way they are dealing with me. Tnx Nanjay

[sea-sidelady]

I will move your thread over to the insurance forum. There will be more advice in there for you.

[Bookworm]

If they say they're "unhappy" about paying out, it means they're fishing... Looking for a way to turn you down, but not sure how best to go about it and also see how you react, whether you might be one of those who will just take it lying down... so don't.

 

I suggest this type of letter:

 

Dear Sir/Madam,

 

I am somewhat confused as to why you have failed to pay out on my policy. My husband and I both declared all relevant information truthfully at the time of taking out the insurance, and I therefore expect you to in turn comply with the terms of said insurance with the same good faith.

 

Your dragging your feet in the matter is grossly unfair and putting greater stress on me at a time where I least need it, so I expect you to either pay up in full or turn down my claim within 14 days from this letter. If you choose to turn it down, I then expect you to give me clear reasons for the refusal and state that this is your final decision in the same letter, so I may then refer the matter to the FOS.

 

Yours etc...

 

That should light a petard under their backside. ;-)

[Nanjay]

That is a fantastic letter. The solicitor who is dealing with the probate, she helped me put 1 together yesterday with a copy of the Financial Advisor's letter to me confirming the circumstances where he sat in our kitchen with my husband (I was at work) filling in the form and saying your weight is something you cant hide, and as an experienced person he accepted my husband's information and after all, they pay him his commission, don't they? They said my husband's weight was "borderline" a s to whether they would have applied a loading or not, but I found an article indicating that the previous year the industry standard was a BMI of 33 or greater so that does not make any sense to me. My Solicitor says I need to speak to a broker about whether this particular insurer was late in applying the said industry standard. Thank you all for your support. Luv Nanjay

[Bookworm]

Honey, no offence to your solicitor, but why should you do the insurers' work for them to convince them to pay out? Their job is to pay out, not to find reasons to deny you and then for you to convince them otherwise. You have done nothing wrong, so why try and justify yourself or your late husband's doings?

 

Me, I would have posted that letter to them already.

[tiglet]

I concur - they have to prove why they won't pay out, not the other way around.

[Wulfyn]

Ok first off pay no attention to ANYTHING they have to say about acceptance criteria or loadings. If they accepted what you said at the time and have no way of proving it to be otherwise then they have to accept that what you were saying was the truth. Additionally if they made any mistakes in accepting you, or in pricing the product they sold you, then that is none of your concern because they offered you a price and you accepted it and they have nothing else to go on.

 

Industry standards mean absolutely nothing, so you don't need to talk to a broker. More importantly if they did make a 'mistake' in not loading your policy properly then the FSA would be completely on your side. The only thing that matters is the wording of the policy that they sold to you.

 

 

Good luck with your case. Don't accept it if they say they will call you back (demand to speak to the claims manager / underwriters directly) and if they start dragging their feet then start mentioning the distress that this is putting on you because they would end up being liable for any damages to your own health from this.

 

 

If you have not managed to get anywhere soon then write directly to their complaints department to complain about the poor treatment you are getting. Be clear to state that they have not provided any evidence to dispute what you say, and that they are effectively calling you a liar for no reason.

[Nanjay]

Thank you all for your useful and kind assistance. I have now found the ABI site - thanks to this forum - and a very useful guidance booklet on this very subject issued in January of this year. If the insurance company rep phones me today I will be quoting this booklet to her extensively and if she does not I will be writing in the terms of the proforma kindly supplied by Bookworm but in addition will refer to the booklet as the insurance company concerned state on their website that they subscribe to the ABI Customer Care Code of Practice. I want them to literally put their money where their mouth is (actually I want them to put in my Bank!) - Nanjay

[Bookworm]

'At a girl! Go get 'em... and let us know what happens.

 

PS: I'd recommend stopping talking to them on the phone and insist they write in, this way they can't say one thing then deny saying it. ;-)

[Nanjay]

As at today's date I have not heard further from the insurance co. - no reply to my letter - and my daughter tells me that there was a TV broadcast on ITV Tonight Show (which I missed) about people having similar experiences to me and apparently Norwich Union say they will not observe the ABI Code for any Policy taken out before it came into force, which has to be most of them! as it only came into force in January of this year. The Company I deal with is not Norwich Union, but even so I expect they will all follow the same tack. Keep you all posted - Nanjay.

[tiglet]

I saw that advertised too.

 

Please do keep us posted.

[SOD'EM]

Let's hope no news is good news;)

[Bookworm]

Yes, I saw the programme and it highlighted one of the most glaring unfairness of the "old" system, that is non-payment for non-disclosure even if the non-disclosure is irrelevant to the cause for claiming. In other words, you don't declare that you went to your GP if you had a headache and they don't cover you when you have your foot amputated after a car crash .