Legal and General have to pay out to cancer victim
January 28, 2008
A cancer victim has finally received justice after her insurance company refused to pay out against her critical illness cover, stating that she had failed to disclose some conditions, despite the fact that the conditions that they quoted were totally unrelated to cancer. The customer, Jacqueline Bradburne, has had to fight for a year to get her money, and even had to go through the Financial Ombudsman Service to see justice done, after her claim was rejected by Legal and General.
Jacqueline was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006, and was covered for this condition under her critical illness policy with the Legal and General. According to reports when she had originally applied for cover the company had failed to check her records properly, and had simply asked to see medical notes confirming her condition at the time that she tried to claim. However, officials from L&G then contacted her to state that she had failed to disclose conditions that she had suffered in the past and therefore could not claim.
The conditions that the company were referring to included a bout of depression some years ago and an eye complaint. An official from Legal and General stated: ‘It is not disputed that the cause of the claim was not related to the non-disclosure, but an insurance contract cannot be completed if it is based on false or misleading information.’
The company has now been ordered to pay the money to Jacqueline, along with interest of 8%, amounting to nearly £100,000. The company, however, still maintains that it was in the right, stating: ‘Decisions to decline claims are taken extremely seriously and we felt we followed industry guidelines at the time. We regret any distress that Jacqueline suffered.’
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