Money Moral Dilemma: Should my son share insurance payout from his mother's hospital stay with her?

Vicxie

He pays £200pm for that policy though....I mean, why can't you think of it as money he can use to make future payments? I would have shared the money with my mum but I also don't think he's 100% wrong either. Yes, the money is from her pain but if she hadn't been on his insurance for FREE, she wouldn't have been able to claim a penny if her treatment had been under the NHS.

nero33

It's the son's.

Did the mum voluntarily complete the paperwork, and did she at any stage question or query her son what would happen when claim paid out?  I'm presuming she wanted and still wants nothing.

That said if I was the son, I'd be giving something back to my mum from the claim as well as a gift or treat.

But that's just how my family would deal with it.

Shell1989

The son pays for the private health care, which he generously added his mum to, and allows her to benefit from his subscription - when private healthcare is available. He sounds kind. The £1200 pay out is a nice reward for him, for already being so generous, and will pay for the next 6 months of private health care - which the mum will continue to benefit from. The money belongs to the son.

devilsprofessor

Son should keep the money. He pays for the policy which will no doubt increase since his mother submitted the claim.

TonyHants

£1200 represents 6 months of the son's monthly premiums, probably more than that if you consider that he is paying the premiums out of taxed income. To split it 50:50 would mean he gets 3 months premiums back plus she gets continuing cover so to my mind this would be an equitable split. Got to be win:win as she had the stay privately in hospital, he gets some premium money back.

PPO

Neither, give the money to the cash strapped NHS. Mum has had her care,son isn't out of pocket,but the NHS can make good use of the cash, why not where Mum was treated?

spyros_455

The money should be the son's, but only in this case:
- The son pays £2,400 per year for both of them, so the £1,200 he's keeping is basically the mother's cost for the year. That's all.
- Additionally, the health insurance premium may go up as a result of the mother using the health insurance, and it will be the son who pays the price.

Overall, the situation seems awful and unfair in the case where the mother received a huge payout such as 30k or 50k. In this case, the son would get it and while the mother has nothing to stand on, it seems grossly unfair. I would have a discussion moving forward knowing that this is a possibility. If both aren't happy, the mother would have to get her own insurance.

Scillydiver

Of course he is "correct" that the refund is technically his as he pays the insurance premiums, but as adding his mother cost him nothing, and she was the one that submitted the claim, it would be churlish not to offer her at least part of the refund. If his mother was anything like mine, should would decline the offer but be pleased he got a refund.

WolverineSW11

I wonder if the son would have done the 'paperwork' himself? If not, then surely the mum should get something for helping him get the payout.

ripongrammargirl

These policies are not cheap and I’m surprised he is allowed to add his mother as it’s generally just spouses and children, in my experience. He pays for the policy so the money is his and he can use it for future direct debits (that don’t usually go up after a claim but do increase after a year). When my husband had a policy like this through simply  health I had many claims for hospital stays and other private treatments for major injuries etc as NHS was so slow it stopped (and this was 12 years ago) and I was in agony as well as losing my job because I couldn’t work. I never asked him for the money for my suffering as he paid the policy! I was just grateful to get some medical treatment as the NHS was appalling. So, to sum up, the money is for the policy holder and bill payer, not an additional named person. Sorry.