Life Assurance - I gave wrong info

CLONNEN

5 years ago I applied for two level term Life Assurance policies £100,000 each. It has recently come to my attention that I may have inadvertently given some false info on the application forms.

I started an exercise regime a couple of months ago and have been experiencing chest pains when I exercise or lift boxes at work. Have stopped the new exercise plan for the moment as the chest pains have reminded of something I had as a young child.

When I was a baby I always cried when my mother put me in my cot - she always put me on my left side. When I was crawling age I complained to my parents that my chest always hurt whenever they made me crawl. It was mentioned to our family doctor who said it was nothing and I should move straight onto learning to walk. Running also caused the chest pains but our doctor continued to say it was nothing to worry about.

When I was about 4 years of age I had a doctors check-up - our usual doctor was on holiday so a younger doctor did the examination. He got very concerned when he listened to my heart beat (about 4 or 5 times) and went to read the notes in my file. He gave us an immediate referral to a heart surgeon/specialist saying that I probably needed surgery as he suspected a hole in the heart.

The heart specialist agreed that there probably was a hole but said that I currently wasn't strong enough for surgery to take place (plus my parents couldn't afford the cost of the surgery). He said sometimes these holes can close up by themselves during a growth spurt and suggested a reassessment should be carried out at age 12.
In the meantime we went back to our usual doctor who was back from holiday and he said that the diagnosis was completely false. He said there was nothing wrong with my heart and refused to prescribe any pain relief medication for me.

We had been advised by the heart specialist that I shouldn't do sports but when I reached school age we were unable to find a school which didn't have compulsory sports so I just had to put up with the chest pains and sudden collapses and sometimes drop out and sit in the library or on the sidelines until the pain eased. I used meditation and breathing exercises taught to me by my teacher as a means of controlling the pain.

By the time I reached the age of 7 I had gotten into the habit of staying out of the way in team sports so as to avoid the collapses and chest pains as much as possible. I continued to do this until the age of 16 without any major incidents - my parents and even myself had totally forgotten about the possible heart defect as it was no longer causing any huge problems.

The hospital never did get in touch with us about the reassessment for heart surgery - we had moved house several times. I had more or less assumed since the school doctor never mentioned anything wrong with my heart that it must have healed itself although I was still getting some pains during running. But now I am getting the intense pains again so surely that means the hole is still open.

I did see a new doctor shortly before taking out the life assurance and she did mention a slight heart murmur but she didn't say anything further about it. She did ask if I had had an operation when I was a child - I said no never. She asked if I was sure and I told her I had no idea what operation she was talking about. She never said heart operation and I had long forgotten about my suspected heart defect.

One of the questions on the life assurance froms was "Have you at any time been investigated for congenital heart defects or heart disease" and I answered No - which I now know is wrong. Should I get in touch with the life assurance people and get it corrected? Will they increase the premiums? Or should I cancel the life assurances and start fresh policies with the correct information?

dunstonh

Should I get in touch with the life assurance people and get it corrected?

Yes. Otherwise in the event of a claim, you have a policy that could be totally useless.

Will they increase the premiums?

Possibly. They may even void the policy and refund the premiums.

Or should I cancel the life assurances and start fresh policies with the correct information?

You could do that. You may or may not be better off doing it that way but it is an option.

stephenni1971

Dunstonh - surely this is a wind up?

When I was crawling age I complained to my parents that my chest always hurt whenever they made me crawl

Most children cannot talk at crawling age?

The heart specialist agreed that there probably was a hole but said that I currently wasn't strong enough for surgery to take place (plus my parents couldn't afford the cost of the surgery).

Cost of surgery? Unless outside UK unlikely.

but when I reached school age we were unable to find a school which didn't have compulsory sports so I just had to put up with the chest pains and sudden collapses and sometimes drop out and sit in the library or on the sidelines until the pain eased.

So a school forces a child to do PE with recurrent pains and collapses in the child? Bizarre!

I used meditation and breathing exercises taught to me by my teacher as a means of controlling the pain.

Even more bizarre as this according to the timeline was age 6! Not many 6 year olds I know would practice meditation as pain control.

I had more or less assumed since the school doctor never mentioned anything wrong with my heart that it must have healed itself although I was still getting some pains during running.

School doctor? We had a school nurse but that was for bumps and grazes only.

I did see a new doctor shortly before taking out the life assurance and she did mention a slight heart murmur but she didn't say anything further about it. She did ask if I had had an operation when I was a child - I said no never. She asked if I was sure and I told her I had no idea what operation she was talking about. She never said heart operation and I had long forgotten about my suspected heart defect.

SO you deliberately avoided games in school for over 10 years but when asked if you had ever had a heart problem had forgotten about it?

Apologies to the OP if this is a true story but some elements of it are pretty unfeasible.

dunstonh

Dunstonh - surely this is a wind up?

I did wonder for the reasons you highlighted. However, I was being generous.

CLONNEN

Most children cannot talk at crawling age?

I could say "It hurts" although my parents didn't realise I meant my chest for many weeks.

Cost of surgery? Unless outside UK unlikely.

The specialist specifically stated that this was a specialised operation which could NOT be done on the NHS. This was 1982/3 - it might have changed since then.

So a school forces a child to do PE with recurrent pains and collapses in the child? Bizarre!

The school refused to acknowledge there was a problem without something in writing signed by a doctor. Our doctor refused to do this as he said there was no problem with my heart. COMPULSORY sports so I couldn't get out of it.

Even more bizarre as this according to the timeline was age 6! Not many 6 year olds I know would practice meditation as pain control.

My teacher wasn't allowed to give me an aspirin or anything so she taught me 1 meditation/breathing exercise that would relieve the severe pain to something more bearable. It took a few attempts to get it right when I first started using it.

School doctor? We had a school nurse but that was for bumps and grazes only.

The school doctor came once or twice a year to do medical examinations on all the children. At no time was a heart condition mentioned.

lisyloo

You must get this sorted with your insurers.
Your insurance may well not pay out and therefore it's useless.
You must get it in place with the relevant info.

I think I'd be tempted to cancel.
The reason is that if they act badly i.e. cancel your insurance then you might have to declare you've have insurance cancelled (where you're asked if you've ever had insurance refused or cancelled) and this will start opther insurers asking questions.

Do you have a different doctor now?
Have you been to them recently?
Im your posistion I would want to see your doctor. Chest pains aren't normal and you need to get this investigated.
If you haven't been for a while you may find doctors more sympathetic than when you were a child.