I did post a question weeks ago but don’t think it ever got approved/published.
Basically almost 2 weeks ago I received my critical illness claim form and there were a couple of questions on there I didn’t know how to answer and so I email the questions to my GP on the advice of his secretary.
I have still not had any responses despite chasing (the Secretaries are in a seperate office to the GP’s now apparently).
Does anyone have any suggestions? Should I try to complete these questions myself and do you think my GP finds me cheeky by asking of assistance (although I really can’t recall some of the dates of the appointments)? Just for info these were the harder questions I was hoping for help with!:
-
Describe fully the extent and nature of your illness
-
Did you have any signs or symptoms preceding the diagnosis? If so what and when?
Check with GP - would that be to list every symptom I’ve had since January?
- Have you suffered any complications of your condition? (if yes please provide details)
Check with GP - I would presume all my symptoms have been typical of MS?
When I completed my form, I stated something along the lines of: 1. Relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis. You can’t say much more, as it’s so variable and unpredictable! 8. List of all relapses, dates from and to (approx.) with symptoms, any residual problems, etc. I also listed what was diagnosed at the time. Eg. I allegedly had carpal tunnel syndrome a year before dx, but in hindsight this was Most likely an MS relapse. 11. I stated “relapses as listed above” then any residual issues I had at the time (numb fingers, bladder weakness, fatigue). Anything that you believe to be MS related should be listed, you can always add a caveat that you may have been misdiagnosed with something else first (I visited so many specialists before a neuro it was silly!) Good luck! Remember they are normally trying to demonstrate MS being a problem for a set period - mine wanted a “coninuous period of six months” with “persistent sensory or motor” problems. Luckily (!) my insurance accepted everything and paid out very quickly. X
I would at a note of caution to Emma’s advice. Yes, for a payout, you MAY need to demonstrate you’ve had symptoms persisting for six months or more. However, they may also be looking for things that happened BEFORE you took out the policy, that could, or should, have alerted you or your doctor to the possibility you had something serious. They could use this to invalidate the policy, saying it was already apparent you were ill, so they wouldn’t have sold it to you if they’d known. There may be many things that, with hindsight, you THINK may be related to MS - but can’t know for sure. Do NOT list everything that’s ever happened that you now think might have been an early warning - especially if it happened before you took out the insurance! I’ll be honest - they’re going to look at your doctor’s notes, so anything you ever went to the doctor’s about, they will find anyway. But if you took out your policy in, say 2000, there is no need to mention that in 1998, you had some odd things that you NEVER went to the doctor about. Especially do not say anything like: “I now realise I had several episodes during the 90s” - or any date that predates your insurance! You may be thinking you’re proving you’ve had it a long time. They may be thinking: “Yes - long enough to have known something was wrong BEFORE you purchased the policy” (which would invalidate it) Tina
Sorry, yes…ditto to what Tina says! My earliest symptoms were still more than 7 years after I took out my policy - I should have said that! As long as you disclosed everything asked for on the original application form, you should be OK. X
Thank you ladies.
My first symptom (to my knowledge) only started in January of this year with an intensely itchy forehead that lasted for 3 weeks, and then was followed by numbness spreading down to my hand and my face dropped and I developed a weak left leg. I have never had any hint of this beforehand.
The insurance company also got a doctors report from my GP prior to me taking out the insurance 4 or 5 years ago which seem unusual but I’m hoping will protect me slightly.
Thank you for the advice, I will make a start on it. Emma, it sounds like we may have the same insurer judging by the criteria.
Keep fingers and toes crossed for me please? xxx
That sounds promising. I had two policies - the larger had been underwritten with a GP report at outset and only took two weeks to pay up. The smaller one was agreed on my application form only, so they got a GP report when I claimed and it therefore took three months. Still paid out though. Mine were Standard Life and Scotish Provident. Good luck x
Ooh, one more thing that concerns me is that I’ve asked if Shingles counts which I had in 2000 (i.e before this insurance) but surely this couldn’t invalidate it, it was a short and painless bout? I don’t want to not mention it in case I’m in trouble for not having mentioned it?
I personally wouldn’t mention it now. I’m sure if it was relevant then the doctor would have mentioned it in the GP report originally. It’s not like you failed to mention a bout of ON or pins and needles…now that would be very relevant! Shingles would not have made you suspicious of MS before the policy was taken out. X