Insurance policy can kill you before disease
THE EDITOR: A number of persons have drawn to my attention the enormous difficulties they are having with insurance companies when they try to cash in so-called "critical illness" policies which they had taken out in the event of contracting a major illness. Given the high cost of medical care these policies have become very popular. In essence they promise to pay a lump sum upon diagnosis of one of the specified illnesses. The fine print comes to the fore only when one is stricken and tries to make a claim. Many of these so-called critical illness policies are in fact burial or death policies. One "super" company, for example, defines cancer as "a malignant tumour characterised by the uncontrolled growth and spread of malignant cells and the invasion of tissue." This definition excludes a whole range of cancer incidence. In effect the policy is only honoured when the cancer has spread and you are dying. In order to sell the policies people are led to believe that the policies are encashable upon diagnosis, and not the stage to which the disease has progressed. The purpose of a critical illness policy should be to give the policy holder a fighting chance. On top of this, some companies take more than two months to process a policy surrender at a time when the policy holder needs the money to deal with an emergency. Don’t expect any sympathy. Government agencies should be playing an active part in helping to discourage this kind of exploitation, but they are seen as useless. To safe guard themselves, buyers of critical illness policies need to have a lawyer scrutinise them. The conditions attached and qualifications stipulated by the companies could kill you before any disease. IVOR MC KENZIE Arouca
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"Insurance policy can kill you before disease"