Banking Blues & Insurance Woes

notsavvy

I'm new to this so please excuse any blunders. In 2002 my husband and I opend a new bank account. Included in the account was free travel insurance. In 2004 we were transferred to South Africa. We informed the bank in writing that this was taking place. I am in receipt of a letter from the bank thanking me for informing them of the new address and change of circumstance. At no stage were we advised to upgrade or downgrade our account. In 2008 my husband took a fishing holiday which went horribly wrong. He developed a blood clot which resulted in an above knee amputation. I immediately informed the bank and started a claim process. The claim was rejected on the following grounds - "This policy is only available to you if you have lived permanently in the United Kingdom for at least 6 months during the 12 month period prior to a trip and are registered with a medical practioner in the UK". I am in receipt of the original policy documents which we received when we originally opened the account, I have read the wording carefully and cannot find any reference to living in the UK. The bank then goes on to say that I must take up the query with AXA as they are the current insurers, however the original policy wasn't through AXA. The bank also states that the onus is on the individual to check their current travel policy, I accept this(if you are receiving the updates) but they also state that they weren't aware of us living in South Africa. They then go on to contradict themselves by saying that the registered address with the bank differs slightly to the address I used on the original claim letter. They then offer me a small sum of money as a gesture of goodwill, I never accepted the sum so the case basically remains open. We have subsequently returned to the UK and I want to know if anyone has any relevant advice for me. Do I take this case to the FOS. I contacted a lawyer who said unless I have a great sum of money to throw away I am wasting my time. We do not have the funds available to fight this. Any advice?

mgdavid

dates - timings!
from the brief facts it's possible this is out of time (too late) for an ombudsman case or complaint??
ETA - what exactly are you trying to claim for - the cost of the fishing holiday, medical expenses, loss of earnings, or what?

notsavvy

Thanks for your reply. Oct 2008 - lost a limb, Oct 2008 - started claim process, 03 Sept 2009 - last letter of correspondence received from bank to say take it up with AXA. The letter states "if you feel unable to accept the final offer of 144 pounds please let me know and I will provide you with a final response letter so that you can refer your concerns to the FOS"

I was trying to claim for loss of limb and medical expenses as this is covered in the insurance policy.

jonesMUFCforever

All travel insurances that I know of state that you have to be a resident of UK and that the travel must start and end in the UK.

mgdavid

what have you done since September 2009 in relation to this claim?

notsavvy

The original travel policy does not say anything about living in UK or starting/ending a journey in the UK. I am presuming it has since been altered to close this loophole.

I have not persued this further with the bank since 2009 as we were going around in circles. In 2009 I was dealing with a South African lawyer but ran out of funds. In 2010 I spoke to an English Lawyer who said he couldn't help as the account was in Scotland and would fall under Scottish Law. In 2011 I spoke to a Scottish Lawyer who said unless I had substantial funds I was wasting my time. Basically I have not done anything further.

meer53

How did the fishing holiday cause a blood clot ?

Personally, if i was living in South Africa, i wouldn't expect a travel insurance policy taken out in the UK to cover me.

mgdavid

I sympathise with your position re: the accident and subsequent outcome, life must be tough sometimes. However I can't see any benefit in raking this up again after such a long interval especially when legal advice says you're on a loser. Time to move on and make the best of the future....

jonesMUFCforever

I have to agree.
Even if OP has the original policy document it would certainly have been superseded with amendments over the years.

jonesMUFCforever

Leading on from where OP says his poilcy is underwritten by AXA - mine is as well - it plainly states that I am only covered if ''I have lived permanently in the UK for at least 6 months during the 12 month period prior to a trip AND are registered in the UK with a medical practitioner.''

I don't think these terms are new ones - IMO it has always been the case.

notsavvy

Thanks for the replies, we have since moved on from this accident. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything. It was a very expensive lesson and one that has taught me to read the fine print very carefully eg BUPA offers Prosthetic cover but on addendum xx page xx paragragh xx line xx it states that Prosthetic cover is for permanent attachments. Only on further investigation does it become clear that a leg or arm is not covered as it can be removed, a breast implant or sphincter muscle is however covered. Read, read, read and never take any legal document at face value.