Bad Advice

Teri19

Hello, as a small family business when the bank offered us life assurance we took it out on key workers. My husband had a serious RTA in 2000 and the same person who sold the policy said he wasn’t covered. Some years later I read the policy and it used the phrase ‘Brain infarction’ - my husband had small parts of 2 lobes removed because of swelling damage but because more than 6 years had passed my husband felt we had passed the claim time limit so I threw the document away. I have just found the policy number and saw on a MSE thread there are no time limits? So I have 3 questions
Does my husbands surgery qualify as infarcation?
Is there a time limit?
Is there anything I can do with just the policy name and number?
Many thanks

[Deleted User]

A brain infarction appears to be a stroke, not a physical injury, so it would not be covered under that definition.

However, life insurance doesn't usually cover injuries or ill-health, but pays out on death. Are you looking at the right policies? 

Teri19

I no longer have the policy but I think it was for death or serious injury 🤷🏼‍♀️ and I could have got the phrase wrong as it’s a long time ago 😔

dunstonh

as a small family business when the bank offered us life assurance we took it out on key workers.

That is very sensible and many small businesses do it on key workers.

My husband had a serious RTA in 2000 and the same person who sold the policy said he wasn’t covered. Some years later I read the policy and it used the phrase ‘Brain infarction’ - my husband had small parts of 2 lobes removed because of swelling damage but because more than 6 years had passed my husband felt we had passed the claim time limit so I threw the document away.

That would not apply to life assurance as that only pays out on death.     The bits you are referring to are not the life assurance side but the critical illness side.  That is sometimes an optional extra bolt-on on with some life assurance plans.  Did you have that bolt-on with the policy?

Does my husbands surgery qualify as infarcation?

I'm not a GP or medically trained but it doesn't appear to meet the definition going by a google search.

Is there a time limit?

Generally no. Although the quality of record-keeping deteriorates over time and if a condition requires tests that may only give a certain result at the time but not later, then it could be too late.

Is there anything I can do with just the policy name and number?

Perhaps find out what it actually covered.  Don't rely on a generic document that covers all bolt-on options.  Look at the specific coverage your plan had.  You say it may have covered serious illness.   However, that is not that common on life assurance plans (some do exist).   Life and critical illness is the most common bolt on.   Serious illness tends to indicate a lower quality income protection plan but most of those are standalone (but not all - Halifax for example did a multi-segment plan that could include it).