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

stumicste

Did this man only add his mother to the policy so that he could get the money if she became ill and needed hospital treatment?  Was there an agreement at prior to her becoming a party to this policy that if she should need to claim, all the money goes to him?  His mother was added for free as he was already paying £200 per month, he did not need pay extra.  His mother has been ill, but it was her who did the paperwork resulting in the settlement.  At the very least he should give her half of the money.  Is this sum of money worth ruining a relationship between a son and his mother?  

OptimisticAbby

The mum got treated by the NHS rather than being paid for by the insurance company. Perhaps the money should go to the NHS. 

wildthing01

I'd be interested to know if the policy states the insurance company's intended purpose for the payout?

Is it to refund the policyholder for a purchased service the company were then unable to provide (a stay in a private hospital), or to compensate the patient for any expenses incurred or discomfort experienced as a result of having to stay in an NHS hospital? Or a bit of both?

It doesn't seem clear from the OP - the son pays the premium which is in his name, but the mum had the claim forms? It would have been helpful to have discussed and agreed any potential claiming scenario with the Mum right at the start.

Spendless

stumicste said:

Did this man only add his mother to the policy so that he could get the money if she became ill and needed hospital treatment?  Was there an agreement at prior to her becoming a party to this policy that if she should need to claim, all the money goes to him?  His mother was added for free as he was already paying £200 per month, he did not need pay extra.  His mother has been ill, but it was her who did the paperwork resulting in the settlement.  At the very least he should give her half of the money.  Is this sum of money worth ruining a relationship between a son and his mother?  

No because you wouldn't know that in advance . If his Mum had been treated in a private hospital then there would have been no compensation  paid, the 'reward' would be having the treatment done in a private hospital. As Mum got treated in an NHS one instead, a daily rate is paid instead to the policy holder.

Pollycat

MSE_Kelvin said:

This week's MoneySaver who wants advice asks...

My son has private healthcare, which he pays £200/mth for and can add family members to for free. He added his mother, and a year later she had a badly-infected leg. The private hospital had no room, so she had to go to an NHS hospital, where she stayed for 12 days. My son's policy includes insurance, where you can claim £100/night if you have to use the NHS. His mother made a claim, and after she did all the paperwork, he got a cheque for £1,200. He refuses to give her any of it as he pays for the policy. Is he right or wrong?

Unfortunately the MSE team can't answer Money Moral Dilemma questions as contributions are emailed in or suggested in person. They are intended to be a point of debate and discussed at face value. Remember that behind each dilemma there is a real person so, as the forum rules say, please keep it kind and keep it clean.

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Would the healthcare company accept a claim from someone who is not the policy holder?
They certainly paid out to the policy holder.

If I was the policy holder and my Mum went behind my back and put in a claim, I'd be furious with her.
And I'd refuse to share the money they paid me as policy holder and payer of the premiums.

If, however, she did the claim because I couldn't be bothered, that a whole different kettle of fish.

Given the lack of information in every one of these MMDs, I really don't know what the author of the MMD gets out of this.

john_evmk

He pays the premiums and although the treatment was in an NHS hospital, mum probably got the benefit of private health care in that she may have been treated earlier than if it were on the NHS rather than private. So technically the money goes to the son. Morally it all depends on mum's financial circumstances and the son's as well. If mum has plenty of savings and son doesn't then perhaps the son should keep it all ( a gift to say thank you for doing the paperwork would have been nice). If son has plenty of savings and mum doesn't, shame on him for not looking after his mum.

Setting aside my own thoughts on who should get what, isn't it sad that mum has to post something like this?

silvercar

I think the money should go to Mum, it is her that had the NHS care. Similar to flight delays, where it is the passenger that is entitled to the money even if someone else paid for the flight.

The reason PHI offers this is to encourage people to take this option as it saves them money, usually there is a term in the policy that says this won’t pay out if you go through the NHS via A&E, ie it is only when you have an option and make the choice to use the NHS that they pay.

SevenOfNine

What is the point of £200 per month for private health insurance, only to be told by the facility "there's no room" & having to go to the NHS anyway! 

He should keep the money, because being on his policy costs her nothing, & by the look of things, hopefully only on this occasion, she got nothing.

Spendless

Pollycat said:

MSE_Kelvin said:

This week's MoneySaver who wants advice asks...

My son has private healthcare, which he pays £200/mth for and can add family members to for free. He added his mother, and a year later she had a badly-infected leg. The private hospital had no room, so she had to go to an NHS hospital, where she stayed for 12 days. My son's policy includes insurance, where you can claim £100/night if you have to use the NHS. His mother made a claim, and after she did all the paperwork, he got a cheque for £1,200. He refuses to give her any of it as he pays for the policy. Is he right or wrong?

Unfortunately the MSE team can't answer Money Moral Dilemma questions as contributions are emailed in or suggested in person. They are intended to be a point of debate and discussed at face value. Remember that behind each dilemma there is a real person so, as the forum rules say, please keep it kind and keep it clean.

If you haven’t already, join the forum to reply.
Got a Money Moral Dilemma of your own? Suggest an MMD.

Would the healthcare company accept a claim from someone who is not the policy holder?
They certainly paid out to the policy holder.

If I was the policy holder and my Mum went behind my back and put in a claim, I'd be furious with her.
And I'd refuse to share the money they paid me as policy holder and payer of the premiums.

If, however, she did the claim because I couldn't be bothered, that a whole different kettle of fish.

Given the lack of information in every one of these MMDs, I really don't know what the author of the MMD gets out of this.

Unlikely unless the policy holder tells them all the details. The policy holder I believe would have to submit the claim. I suspect what is meant is Mum filled out the form(s)  eg Name, address, where treated, condition, dates, reason for not being treated in private and then gave her son the paperwork to submit.

jan140160

They should have sorted this out when he added her, so the fairest way is to have half each and then lay down the rules for future payments.  If she is elderly she might be using this policy alot. Seems strange she claimed and not her son.