Cannabis use and Criticall Illness Claim/DLA Claim

bpc72

Hi,

Recently i have been diagnosed with Dilated Cardiomyopathy. This is covered on my Critical Illness Policy but my problem is that on the hospital report sent to the company, the consultant has listed that i have 'used cannabis recreationally'. Although this is not the cause of my illness will this affect both my claims (Critical illness and DLA) and stop them from paying out?

Concerned

ACG

Put your claim in, thats the only way to know for sure.

Different insurers view it in different ways. If you smoked cannabis before you applied and didnt mention it - they may reduce or decline your payout - based on what they would have done at the point of underwriting.

If you started after you took out the policy then depending on the contract you may be ok and get full payout.

alistair.long

Ask your heart consultant if Dilated Cardiomyopathy can be caused by canabis use.

If he says yes then I would be carefull, if not then you have nothing to worry about, it would be helpfull if you have it in writting.

starrystarry

alistair.long wrote: »

Ask your heart consultant if Dilated Cardiomyopathy can be caused by canabis use.

If he says yes then I would be carefull, if not then you have nothing to worry about, it would be helpfull if you have it in writting.

That's simply not true. If the OP was using cannabis prior to starting the policy and he/she didn't disclose it, then there could be problems even though the cannabis didn't cause the cardiomyopathy. If the insurance company would not have offered cover if they'd known about the cannabis use then they would be entitled to void the policy. If they would have increased the premium due to the cannabis use, then they may reduce the payout.

OP, were you using cannabis before you started the policy? If so, did you disclose it?

bpc72

starrystarry wrote: »

That's simply not true. If the OP was using cannabis prior to starting the policy and he/she didn't disclose it, then there could be problems even though the cannabis didn't cause the cardiomyopathy. If the insurance company would not have offered cover if they'd known about the cannabis use then they would be entitled to void the policy. If they would have increased the premium due to the cannabis use, then they may reduce the payout.

OP, were you using cannabis before you started the policy? If so, did you disclose it?

I used to smoke regularly up to around 1999 and my doctor was aware of this, when i took out the policy in 2007 i wasnt smoking cannabis so this was never disclosed. The policy just had me down as a 'smoker'. It just so happened i over indulged around christmas and new year and this was mentioned by myself to the doctors after many questions when admiited to hospital with heart failure. My consultant has assured me that this wasnt the cause of my illness and on his report it stated that i have been diagnosed with 'Idiopathic Dilated Cardiomyopathy' with the term 'Idiopathic' meaning cause is unknown.

iamana1ias

bpc72 wrote: »

I used to smoke regularly up to around 1999 and my doctor was aware of this, when i took out the policy in 2007 i wasnt smoking cannabis so this was never disclosed. The policy just had me down as a 'smoker'. It just so happened i over indulged around christmas and new year and this was mentioned by myself to the doctors after many questions when admiited to hospital with heart failure. My consultant has assured me that this wasnt the cause of my illness and on his report it stated that i have been diagnosed with 'Idiopathic Dilated Cardiomyopathy' with the term 'Idiopathic' meaning cause is unknown.

Hell of a coincidence when smoking (tobacco and/or weed) is known to cause dilated cardiomyopathy. You go nuts on weed, have heart failure, and the 2 things are magically unrelated??

starrystarry

bpc72 wrote: »

I used to smoke regularly up to around 1999 and my doctor was aware of this, when i took out the policy in 2007 i wasnt smoking cannabis so this was never disclosed. The policy just had me down as a 'smoker'. It just so happened i over indulged around christmas and new year and this was mentioned by myself to the doctors after many questions when admiited to hospital with heart failure. My consultant has assured me that this wasnt the cause of my illness and on his report it stated that i have been diagnosed with 'Idiopathic Dilated Cardiomyopathy' with the term 'Idiopathic' meaning cause is unknown.

When did the policy start? We could do with knowing the wording of the relevant question on the application form. Do you have a copy of it? For example, was the question "have you ever used ..." or was it "in the last 5 years have you used..."

iamana1ias....could you refer us to a study, or provide a link to a website, that confirms cannabis as a cause of dilated cardiomyopathy?

starrystarry

Sorry bpc72, just noticed your post said the policy started in 07...ignore that question!

bpc72

starrystarry wrote: »

Sorry bpc72, just noticed your post said the policy started in 07...ignore that question!

I am only after looking at the policy again and the actual wording of the question is as follows;

'In the last 5 years have you used recreational drugs, other than cannabis, for example ecstacy, cocaine or heroin?

Where examples are shown they are not intended to be a full list.
Legal and General will only use the answer to this question in underwriting your application or at claim stage.
Therefore there are no legal implications in responding to this question.'

starrystarry

So that means you didn't need to disclose your past cannabis use. In fact the wording of the question specifically excludes cannabis. Assuming your cannabis use hadn't caused any health problems that would need disclosing under another question, there can be no suggestion of non-disclosure so that's one less thing to worry about.

The only remaining issue then is whether your cannabis use caused the cardiomyopathy. I'm not aware of any link between them, perhaps iamana1ias will reply to my post above, and your consultant doesn't believe cannabis was the cause so I don't foresee any problems with your claim. I suppose it's possible that your tobacco use was the cause, but if so this will have no impact on your ability to claim. You were paying smoker rates to cover this (and other) risks.

I can't comment on your DLA claim as I've no expertise whatsoever re that, but I'm fairly confident (based on the limited info at hand) that you won't have any problems with your critical illness claim. Best wishes.

bpc72

Thanks again for your help on this one, its one less worry:)