Adviser firm Vita shares the experience of a 40 year old client who was diagnosed with breast cancer. When Mrs Duncan took out additional critical illness cover, she never thought she would ever make a claim and discusses the support she received when the time came.
Mrs Duncan, Coventry
"In 2014 my husband and I re-mortgaged for home improvements and took out additional critical illness cover in the unlikely event of one of us falling ill in our advanced age.
"We weren't sure of how to set it in place as we didn't have a trusted financial adviser so we turned to Martin Lewis's website MoneySavingExpert and were eventually linked to Vita.
"The service from Vita in providing several quotes from providers was so comprehensive, we weren't rushed or railroaded into making a decision by our adviser.
"We chose a suitable insurer for our cover and should it be needed Vita would handle any claim if we had to do so in the future plus they would review our situation each year on the anniversary date.
"Shortly after the work on the house was completed, I came across a lump in my left breast. Being a somewhat fit and healthy woman of 40, we weren't expecting to hear the words 'breast cancer'.
"Claiming on the policy eased the financial stress of having to find the monthly amounts of the mortgage and the other debts whilst undergoing treatment.
"If this hadn't have been in place then we would have struggled considerably to stay financially afloat and I would have had to return to work a lot more and a lot sooner than I have.
"Vita made claiming straightforward and took away a lot of the stress in doing it on our behalf. We both agree that Vita have been outstanding in going above and beyond what is expected of a company.
"We expected not to hear from them again once we claimed, this has not been the case, Paul Reed, director at Vita, has stayed in touch throughout my eight months of treatment.
"Insurance is something that is either compulsory (car and buildings cover) or the exact opposite, something that might come in useful should we need it like life cover or mobile phone.
"You may think that you will never use critical illness cover. We didn't think we would.
"It is a cliché to say you don't know what's round the next corner of life and it is easy to think that nothing will turn bad in your life. It's sensible to have a safety net in place just in case."
Further reading
Critical illness: How an adviser's phone call helped a client in need
