This story began in May last year and ended this month. The conclusion was a R81,027 payment to me for a dread disease claim.
It all began with my annual medical check with my GP. He looked at a small ‘mark / spot / thingy’, on my back that I could feel. He said he thought it was nothing but let’s go visit the dermatologist and check. After waiting three months to get an appointment, the Doc said she (also) thought it was nothing but she wanted it out to check the histology… was the new word for me.
So back to my GP for him to practice with his scalpel and take a chunk out of my back. There went a piece of me in one of those small lab bottles with a green lid.
The results came back, and it was a basal cell carcinoma. Which in English I think means an early-stage cancerous tumour that could become skin cancer. But the tests showed that my GP had got it all out so that’s good and nothing more to do.
I only wondered a couple of months later if I could get a dread disease payout. I read my policy documents: my Liberty Life policy I could see wouldn’t pay anything: the terms were from stage 1 cancer upwards. My Hollard policy had a benefit called ‘early cancer cover’. But I submitted a claim to both companies anyway.
A claim takes effort. You need to get the claim forms for yourself to complete, as well as for your doctor to complete. I pre-populated the doc’s forms as much as possible and delivered them to her rooms. I paid the admin fee myself for her to complete them – because the companies take long to pay or might not pay and then it holds things up – and personally collected them afterwards.
The result was Hollard paid me a percentage of the benefit category for early cancer cover and liberty said no, as I thought. I wasn’t bad enough yet. Sometimes we should view an unsuccessful claim as a good thing…. It means you don’t have something you don’t want.
Next week I will write about what I suggest doing with money that you receive that you would never have had: this sort of money…. also inheritance… money like this.
This week, my point is about reminding you to do that good and full annual medical. You will avoid, prevent, or better manage to treat, so many things with better results. So I have learnt for myself.
And secondly, a claim takes effort, and you have to drive it.