Critical Illness Claim

quietheart

I had a stroke 3 months ago age 39 and have only just considered claiming on my critical illness cover.
Just wondering if I have much chance of a successful claim. I'm mobile, have right sided weakness, so not too bad physically. More problems cognitively, with memory and speech difficulties.
Any opinions?
Cheers

dunstonh

Just wondering if I have much chance of a successful claim

The side effects or consequences of the stroke are not important (as long as there is an permanant symptons). So, put your claim in as soon as possible.

quietheart

Really? I've only had a quick look and memory not being that hot i think it said, permanent disability in brackets after stroke. Our provider is Friends Provident.

dunstonh

You said stroke though and that is a critical illness.

In fact, in 2007, Friends provident stats show that 6% of claims were for having a stroke. 87% of claims were paid out on (6.46% for non-disclosure and 7.02% for not being covered).

Take a look at the attached: http://www.friendsprovident.co.uk/doclib/cxcol2d.pdf

You appear to meet the critieria set out on pdf page 12.

quietheart

so the critical illness doesn't have to stop you from being able to work?
i'm unable to work but probably could in years to come.
thanks for your help, must be nice to be a mine of information!

Pollypatch

Sounds like the same symptoms my husband had after his stroke two years ago. He was 37. He wasn't diagnosed until three months afterwards. We had critical life insurance and claimed sucessfully. A stroke is a stroke. There is no such thing as a minor stroke. Its how your body recovers from the stroke. My husband is back at work full time. Your Neurologist should support your claim. Good luck

quietheart

Pollypatch wrote: »

Sounds like the same symptoms my husband had after his stroke two years ago. He was 37. He wasn't diagnosed until three months afterwards. We had critical life insurance and claimed sucessfully. A stroke is a stroke. There is no such thing as a minor stroke. Its how your body recovers from the stroke. My husband is back at work full time. Your Neurologist should support your claim. Good luck

Really glad to hear your husband is doing well. 3 months to diagnose - I thought mine was back (took 2 months, he didn't have an artery dissection did he?!:eek: )
Did the claim take long? How are his symptoms now? Does the fatigue ever go away?! Thanks for replying.

Pollypatch

My husband had a 5mm infarct on the right side of the brain (a Lucuna stroke).
It showed up on the MRI but not the CT. As long as you have evidence of neurological damage (for example; MRI result) then you should have a successful claim. Three months after his diagnosis he was told the cause was a Patent Foramen Ovale otherwise known as a P.F.O. The claim took around three months. Unfortunately he still suffers with fatigue two years later. Speech and memory problems are getting better although they do occur out of nowhere from time to time. Crosswords and brain training on the Nintendo DS really helped. Not sure if you can e-mail me direct from here but understand fully what you are going through.

quietheart

Pollypatch - i've sent you a private message!

quietheart

I'm just filling out the claim form now.
It includes a sentence stating "I do not require to see any medical report before it is issued" and I have the option of deleting this.
Could this go against me if I want to see the medical report before it's sent.
I saw a cardiologist this week who said my file was a bit of a mess and had contradictory information in it (great - just what i need right now.......) so I'm concerned about the right info getting through.
Or would it be too much hassle and cause too much delay?

the-chauffeur_2

It certainly won't go against you if you want to see the medical information before it is submitted. It will, however, mean that the claim process will be delayed.

Friends Provident will almost certainly want reports from a couple of sources - they'll probably ask your GP for copies of your medical records, and get him to complete what is basically a GP claim form. They'll also ask your specialist(s) for reports. If you say you want to see what is being sent, the doctors can't reply to the insurer for at least 21 days to give you the option to get an appointment with them.

Ultimately, there's little influence you can have over what your doctors send the insurer - you can't edit their records, so really all you're doing is viewing what they're going to send back. Unless you have any serious concerns over whether your medical records are correct, it's probably easiest to say you don't want to see any reports before they are sent. You can always ask to see them at your next appointment.

If it's any consolation, it's not unusual for medical records to contain contradictory or conflicting information, particularly where it relates to individual doctor's opinions (rather than hard facts). They important factor as to whether a claim is accepted is whether the medical records show that the policy claim criteria have been met - and more often than not they're fact-based.

Hope that helps.