Hi Lesley, I received my critical insurance payout 2 years ago and yes it was tax free!
Big hugs
Stella x
Alesta, usually the forms are sent direct to your consultants to fill in and unless you have specifically requested sight of them then you won’t see them.
You need confirmation from your oncologist that you are in his view diagnosed as terminal, ring the insurers and get the forms and if they do come to you first make sure you tick the box that says you don’t want to see the reports. There may be basic information that you need to fill in on the form and then pass it to your consultant for him to do his bit. He would then get it sent straight back to the insurer with no further involvement from you.
Therefore you would not at any point need to read anything relating to your condition. You can maintain the level of knowledge you have agreed between you and your consultant.
Reading that back it sounds awful I know and I hope no offence is taken or upset caused on such a delicate issue. Wishing you all the best and I hope you get the money so that you can sort matters out.
Ali
Ali
Thanks for that - no offense taken!
I’ve already been through this with one policy. They sent me the forms, I filled a bit in, passed them to my GP and they’ve gone off.
The issue for me with the L&G one is the fact that they’ve told my husband they won’t send out any forms to anyone until he calls them back and tells them that my consultant has verbally told me I’ve only got a year. They also told my husband that they have software on their phone that picks up if people are lying (not quite in those words but that was the jist of it).
I’m working myself up to incandescence. Figure I’ll be ready to call and give them what for by the end of the week…
Laurie x
That is not on is it. What matters is what the consultant writes on the document and puts his signature to, not what you say to some administrator on a desk.
Hard though it may be, if you can easily get hold of your consultant (and remember he or she will be familiar with this sort of process) and explain the situation, go through the motions with them and get the money you can then put in a written complaint about the attitude of their administrator.
No matter what the insurance company’s stance is on this, there are ways and ways of talking to people who are seriously ill. Having dealt with these companies for nearly 20 years I am appalled that they have thrown their weight around in this manner. Yes they have to be aware of fraudulent claims but honestly! This person was taking that to the nth degree for sure.
Best of luck, if you want any help PM me and if I can help you I will.
Ali
Hi,
The first thing I will say of course is that once you have pursued this if L & G pay your claim then you will of course know that your consultant has agreed you are likely to have less than a year. So in reality you should only go ahead if you are prepared for that outcome.
Having said that if you want to go ahead then I suggest you write to L & G and make a complaint about the information you have been given, and tell them you want to make a claim. Explain why you do not wish to have a direct conversation with your oncologist. They cannot penalise you for complaining, there is a strict industry code and timescales for them to respond. If they reject your complaint and refuse to consider a claim you can ask for a letter of deadlock and then complain to the financial ombudsman (at no cost to yourself…but L & G will be charged a fee!!).
I wouldn’t hurt to ask your oncologist to write directly to L & G as well, but in any event they will get a report directly from him later.
Thanks Lakeslover
I’ve emailed my consultant and will discuss it with him at my next appointment.
I’m a nurse and am aware of my prognosis and am prepared to have the conversation with my onc. Given the nature of metastatic BC, it could be a couple of years, I could throw an embolus or my liver could pack in with the next chemo.
I think the thing that rankles with me is the attitude of the insurance company. I’m quite happy for them to send the forms to my onc, it’s the “You’re onc HAS TO TELL you you’ve only got a year” Where’s the patient choice in that. The choice to know every detail or just to be happy with the broad brush strokes. I was always an abstract rather than a still life kind of gal!
Ho hum… Onward and upwards!
I absolutely agree with you. If you have the strength complain about their attitude. It may help others who follow.
By the way as well as having BC I run the underwriting and claims team at a different Life Company. My team would not treat anyone like that (even before my diagnosis).
Actually at this moment I think I might be even more angry than you are…it’s attitudes and behaviour like that that gets the insurance industry as a whole a bad name.
Sorry, rant over.
PM me if I can help.
Laurie, I would definitely make a complaint. I’ve recently contacted L&G re. critical life cover. I had a very pleasant woman on the phone who said that they would contact my GP for all relevant details - after having asked for my history - and that once they received the forms, they would contact me. I also received a letter stating this and an opening sentence saying how sorry they were that I was ill (words to that effect) and a further telephone call, stating that they would contact my GP if he hadn’t responded in 2 weeks, and would then call me again to update me. She also stated that you (as the client) have the option of seeing/not seeing the correspondence from the doctor. Asking to see the correspondence delays the claim, I’m not sure why.
Nearly all references (DLA etc.) to terminal illness state a life expectancy of less than a year, oncologists are well versed (or should be) in this and them consenting to sign a form does not mean that your prognosis has drastically changed. It’s an emotive issue, so both health professionals and insurers should treat their clients with the utmost respect and sensitivity. If you feel that L&G have been remiss, I urge you to file a complaint - I’m convinced that they will take it seriously.
I hope the situation gets resolved (mine too!) to your satisfaction.
Best wishes
Alison
Thanks for all the advice girls - knew I could count on you all 
Laurie x
Grr, am so mad! Put in terminal illness claim last November, Onc took ages to fill in the forms but we had the “discussion” about the one year survival malarkey, and I was supposed to see the report before it was sent. Had a phone call on Friday from Insurance company - woman said my prognosis was “not too bad at the moment” so they couldn’t pay out. Onc had written that I was terminal but could not predict survival. It is doing my head in - my first Oncologist told me back in september that median survival time for someone with secondaries was 18 months and painted a very black picture indeed. Tho I am on oral chemo now and with a different Oncologist, this “picture” cannot be unpainted. That money would have made such a difference. How can insurance companies demand this one year survival when no-one can be sure how long any of us will survive? Fed up.
Dear Happy Feet, I am so sorry that you are having to deal wijth this as well as our illness’s. I have to say I recently had a terminal cover payout with, not sure if I’m allowed to say their name, with Scottish Widows. They were so caring yet professional, respectful and helpful. They kept calling me to let me know how my claim was progressing. My onc was also lovely, we had previously had The Chat, about my poor prognosis and he backed this up in his letter. Who knows how long we have, but I hope its not too soon. Can u call your insurance co and ask their medical officer to look again and reconsider?xx
Dear All
I too have just been diagnosed with secondary breast cancer in my lungs which can be managed and not cured. I have a life insurance policy with Scottish Widows for my mortgage, their criteria is a year or less so now have to ask my oncologist the question. I assume she won’t be able to tell me but I am worrying about money and paying the bills. Why do people have to put us in this position?
Dear Karenjane, in the report my onc sent to Scottish Widows he stated that " It is not unreasonable to assume I may not live more than 12 months"… what he didn’t say was that If I continue to respond to treatment I could live for 5 years! Have a chat with your onc, explain the situation and if he will be prepared to confirm that you MAY not live 12 months…he isn’t committing to a time - just giving you a huge financial breather…PM me if you wish to ask any more questions about S Widows, who I have to say could not have been more kind and helpful if they tried.
Hi Karenjane
I’m waiting to hear if I will get my payout at the moment (should hear by April I hope)
I have a Heinz 57 variety of mets and while I hope I will be in the 20% that gets to 5 years (old stats so hopefully more), I think my consultant will be saying, as horsie says, that he would not be surprised if I died within 12 months.
I am aware of my prognosis but my onc is aware that I prefer to look at it through half-shut eyes rather than in full 3D! (so he hasn’t been blunt). My one gripe with L&G is that they always ask, “Have you been told you have less than 12 months to live” Given that I will never ask and my onc will never tell me, it’s a bit difficult to answer…
I’ll let you know how I get on.
So it seems i am too well to get terminal illness payout from L&G as my last scan was mostly stabl. They said to call back when I’m nearer death (not quite in those words but you get the jist). So hopes of having a nice holiday with my family while I am still able have vanished…
More than a little miffed, given that I have seen quite a few women with my diagnosis go downhill pretty rapidly 
Hi all,
I’m still awaiting decision on my pay out with L&G. My situation is complicated (isn’t it always?!) as I had my primary diagnosis in Italy. My cover is for critical illness, meaning something like cancer in general rather than a terminal diagnosis. In fact they asked me why I hadn’t made a claim when I was first diagnosed. Umm, like I didn’t know!!
Anyway, much faxing back and forth from Sicily - fortunately I ended up doing quite a bit of work for my Italian onc, plus he gave me all my notes - mean that I am hoping that they will make a favourable decision soon.
It’s all turned out to be more complicated than I thought. Still don’t know why they can’t just GIVE ME THE MONEY based on my secondary condition. Oh well. Patience.
Alison
Hi Alison,
just to say I had critical illness cover with Legal and General but didn’t realise I had it until about a year after diagnosis. They paid out without a peep and also returned all the excess contributions I had made since the date of diagnosis…that may be why they are chasing you re the primary diagnosis. Lets hope so. Pamx
Dear all
Just to let you know that L&G paid out last Friday and I have received my critical illness cover plus backdated contributions dating from 2006.
I suppose it’s a bittersweet moment really but thank goodness I had this clause on my cover as I am struggling financially now.
For those without secondaries who may pop in to this thread, L&G said they would have paid out from my original (primary) diagnosis…so it could be worth looking at your insurance documents.
I’m now telling all healthy friends to check and amend, if necessary, their mortgage insurance!
Best wishes
Alison
also if you have paid in to a pension and you ca get your onc to say you have 1 year you can get the lot back pluss intrest take care 19white62