Diagnosis and prognosis

Hi @tallbee

Thanks for getting in touch. I am sorry to hear about your recent diagnosis, it sounds like there is a lot going on for you just now.

You don’t have to make your insurance company aware of your diagnosis, however if you are looking to claim under the ‘Terminal Illness’ benefit the first step would be to contact them and they will usually send you a claim form for completion and return. Once this is sent back to the insurance company, the person dealing with the claim will contact your GP and/or Specialist for details of the exact diagnosis and for confirmation that your life expectancy, statistically speaking, is expected to be less than 12 months.

It might be worth considering speaking to your medical professional about what information they would be happy to provide at this time or to agree with them a point when they would be happy to confirm this. 

Whilst there isn’t usually a timescale from the date of diagnosis/prognosis by which you would need to make a Terminal Illness claim, It’s worth noting that some policies don’t allow a terminal illness to claim in the last 12-18 months of the policy term.  Also, that on some occasions the terminal illness claim may pay out slightly less in comparison to a payment on death, so it can be worth checking for this before making a claim.

For the pension, if someone is diagnosed as having a life expectancy of less than 12 months, there may be an option to receive a one off, tax free, lump sum payment which is called serious ill health retirement.  For a pension company to pay out under the serious ill health rules, again, your doctor would need to sign to say that in their medical opinion you are likely to have a life expectancy of less than 12 months. It’s always worth getting quotes for all of the options before making a decision, such as comparing the death benefits and ill health retirement quotes to the serious ill health option, just so you can ensure you are making the right decision for you.

It might help, to discuss this over the phone with us? Just so we can better support you moving forward, as there could be other additional features to look out for on your life insurance policy and/or other options to consider before accessing your pension.

Just to clarify, the Financial Guidance Service can provide information and guidance on all aspects of your personal finances to help you make informed decisions in the following areas;

Pensions and retirement options

Questions about insurance policies

Mortgages and money management

Arranging wills and trusts to protect your family

General financial planning questions

If you would like to discuss anything further with us, you can speak with a Financial Guide on 0808 808 00 00, just select options 1 then 2 then 1 again or you can also contact us via webchat.  Our team are available Monday to Friday 8am – 6pm.

Kind regards,

Lisa

Financial Guide

(Posted by Will) 

thank you :) very helpful