Rejection of Shield claim

Dear Mr. Tan,
I am writing to you to seek your advice on how I should go about seeking redress with regards to my claim with Y.

I bought the Shield plan from Y. I was hospitalised 9 months later for angioplasty (ballooning). Y had written to state that they are not covering me because my hospital discharge summary indicates the diagnosis as : Primary - Ischaemic Heart Disease, Secondary - Hypertension and Hyperlipidemia and that I did not declare that I had high cholesterol.

I did a health screening with my GP and results showed that my cholesterol level was slightly high. My GP advised me to do more exercise and lead a healthier lifestyle. He deemed it was not necessary for me to be on medication. I carried on my life as usual without making much changes at all as I didn't take the condition seriously.

I did another health screening a few years later. My GP told me that my cholesterol level had improved slightly. It was not necessary for me to go on medication.

All this while, it has never occurred to me that I have high cholesterol because I was not on medication. As a layman, I sincerely and honestly didn't know the seriousness of having high cholesterol which may lead to heart disease.

When I was asked questions about my health during the proposal, I had declared whatever I know (ie, on medication for high blood pressure which was under control.) In Y's proposal form, there was no question asked about cholesterol. If it is an important factor in risk assessment, I think it is only fair to include this question.
CY

REPLY
I suggest that you write to Y and pose them the facts that you have presented. If they wish to reject your claim due to non-disclosure, it is their duty to prove that you have deliberately hidden a material fact.

As they did not ask about your high cholesteral, and you were not aware about its significance, you have a right to press for your claim to be approved. Let us see what is their reply to this matter.

If you feel that your claim has not been handled fairly, you can lodge a complaint with FiDREC. They will appoint an independent assessor to look into this matter. Their contact is:
http://www.fidrec.com.sg/website/faq.html

Loss of goodwill

A met an Income policyholder at a cocktail party. He told me that in the past, he did not have to think twice about buying insurance from Income, as he was sure that being a cooperative, he would get a lower price and better return.

With the recent change, he is not not sure whether Income will continue to give the same good value. He is worried about the higher expenses and the recent change in bonus to make Income follow the practice of other insurance companies. He would check carefully before he buy a policy from Income.

He said that a lot of goodwill is being lost through the recent changes.