Dad's "lost" insurance policy

[MoralOrLegal]

My dad lost mental capacity some 6 years ago. He is in a care home. I have Deputy status (Court of Protection) and now look after all of his finances. Slightly before he lost his capacity, he handed me a folder with all of his financial documents (or so I thought).

Recently I received a letter addressed to him from an insurance company. It was an apology for not updating him about his health insurance policy (for the last 10 years!!!) Turns out that way back in 1999 he had bought a policy which insured against developing various health conditions, including cognitive impairment, for a substantial amount per year of care fees. I had no clue about this (there was nothing in his folder), and the insurance company had sent no communication before this "oops, we seem not to have sent you updates for a decade!" letter.

Obviously, I can now investigate claiming on his behalf. Does anyone think that I have a case for trying to backdate the claim 6 years, or is the responsibility for knowing that a policy exists rest entirely with the person who bought it, i.e. he should have told me? I'd like some suggested wording before contacting the insurance company if possible!

I'd give it a try, what do you have to lose?

We had a critical illness policy with L&G. Put in a claim just after Christmas because DH has stage 4 cancer and they paid out but also refunded 3yrs worth of premiums because he'd had cancer before in 2020 which would have qualified for the policy paying out. It's worth enquiring whether the insurer will backdate, especially as they are part of the problem for not communicating for 10 years.

I most certainly would be contacting their complaints department

Sorry to hear about your DH, @SmirnoffIceIsNice

I'll try to speak to them tomorrow; thanks!

But didn't you notice payments to the insurance company in your father's financial records? Were payments ongoing?

No, but good question. The policy was fully paid-up after ten years of premiums. It is a "Future Assured Long Term Care Plan" which are apparently no longer on the market.

The letter I received was very brief but included a policy number, so I contacted the insurer and they sent me a copy of the schedule and documents, which is how I now know about the date and premiums! That arrived today and has prompted my post.

I was expecting a fight, but I called the company (Aviva) and a very sympathetic-sounding Claims Advisor explained that any claim could be backdated to the first relevant medical diagnosis from a list. I'll have to check with my dad's GP to get the right date, but fingers crossed!

Sounds good, best of luck with it.

Is there some sort of insurance ombudsman that you can speak to girst so you know your rights and are fully prepared when speaking to this company?

Aviva are usually very good, I've contacted them about my pension a few times and they're always helpful

I have made a claims to Aviva on critical illness insurance. Very quick and easy.

That's really reassuring, thanks! I was prepared to navigate Faceless Bureaucracy but a helpful advisor gave me her name and direct number for any queries. Which is very rare! She's posting the paperwork today and I'll take it from there.

I once visited an Aviva office which dealt with critical illness claims. I remember the staff were lovely to people on the phone.

That sounds promising OP.

As an update, I've now sent off Court of Protection Deputyship paperwork to Aviva which is the first step before they can talk to me in more detail about the situation. At least things are moving forward!

Have worked with insurance claims and underwriting. Most claims will be back dated to the first event on their medical record that confirms a diagnosis and prognosis. You shouldn’t have to fight for it, they’ll contact your Dads GP/specialist for all records

Hopefully everything is in order and that it all gets sorted out soon. It's a really big deal!

Thanks for the support! The claim form is now in and we'll wait for the doctor's report before Aviva make a decision. It could potentially relieve a lot of the worries we've been having about my dad's long-term financial situation.

🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻Fingers crossed for you

Fingers crossed for you. Assuming it pays, what a great day's work your Dad did when he took out that policy - and what a gift he's given to you now (in terms of reducing the stress load on you).

Yes indeed! It made me think that we should do the same, but those policies are now in the "too good to be true" category and it will be annuities for us. in due course.

Finally, after much chasing up of my dad's GP, Aviva have received the medical report. Now we're waiting to see if they agree to backdate the claim. There was a lot of back-and-forth to prove my ID and his ID to prevent fraud, but it was sensitive and polite. And it was all done by post rather than email but I suppose I can see why. Fingers crossed, eh?

Sounds promising. 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻

Whew, the claim has been approved for future payments, which means that my dad's financial situation is now sorted for the foreseeable future. An incredible relief.

Waiting to hear separately about the backdated element of the claim, which would be the icing on the cake.