I bought Aviva’s Health Secure policy some time back after going thru the mentioned features on their site. However, when I went thru the T&C of the policy, something screamed at me right at the beginning.
The first CI they covered was Heart Attack. And the definition that they gave for the attack is as follows:
The death of a portion of the heart muscle as a result of inadequate blood supply and being evidenced by all three of the following (note the wording - all 3)
(1) A history of typical prolonged chest pain; and
(2) New electrocardiograph (ECG) changes; and
(3) Significant elevation of cardiac enzymes above accepted
What I fail to understand is that for a person having a heart attack for the first time, how will the first condition be fulfilled in most cases, even if the other 2 are? Does Aviva’s medical team really believe that before getting a heart attack for the first time, will a person necessarily have a history of prolonged chest pain? I surely do not think so. Haven’t they heard of people being hospitalized by a sudden heart attack and even dying of it? So what is stopping them from rejecting a claim on the ground that the person who has been hospitalized of a heart attack the first time, never had a history of prolonged chest pain, as well it might be, as they would like? In the first place, why have all the 3 conditions as mandatory - a reasonable option would have been to have maybe at least 1 or 2 of these conditions to be mandatory. I am not qualified enough to comment on the other 2, but surely insistence on the first condition is ridiculous.
When I wrote my query to them, all I got was a parroted answer to the effect that at the time of claim they assess every aspect of medical/non medical history and condition of the life insured at the time of claim application.
This is highly unsatisfactory since the wording of the policy defeats the very purpose for which it was bought. They also say that the T&C of the policy are designed to cover a large spectrum of life insured/policy holders and hence regret their inability to alter the same for a specific condition. If something is wrong, then it should be rectified. And the above logic holds good for the entire spectrum of people who may suffer a heart attack the first time. Surely Aviva doesn’t want us to believe that they will issue this product only to persons already afflicted with a heart problem?
Such obstinate behavior has put me off them. Even if I don’t cancel the policy now in the free-look period, I am surely not renewing it next year.