Turned down as I had a cardiac arrest not a heart attack
VICKY and Steven Huddleston took out critical illness insurance to cover their mortgage in the event that one of them became ill. The couple (pictured) have three children — Amelia, 15, Jude, 12, and Lena, ten — and wanted to be sure they’d be able to pay their bills should either of them suddenly be unable to work. So, when Steven, 40, nearly died in January after his heart stopped for 20 minutes, they were grateful they’d had the foresight to prepare themselves. Yet, despite paying £22 a month for 16 years — around £4,000 — Aviva refused to pay their claim. Britain’s biggest insurer says that because Steven suffered a cardiac arrest, not a heart attack, he is not covered and ineligible for the £66,500 payout. The insurer’s decision left the couple from Lancaster struggling financially. Steven, a self-employed floor layer, has been unable to work since he collapsed. Vicky, a midwife, has been forced to cut back on shifts to care for him. So her income has also been reduced. Vicky, 41, had woken at 4am after hearing Steven gasping for breath. He collapsed in front of her and, as a medical professional, she fortunately knew to start CPR immediately. The children had to watch as she worked to keep their father alive until paramedics arrived. Without this quick thinking, Steven would almost certainly have died. It took four defibrillator shocks to get his heart beating. Steven was taken to hospital, where he had a permanent defibrillator fitted around his heart. Vicky says: ‘I thought everything would be OK because the critical illness policy would pay out to cover the mortgage. But, 12 weeks after sending off the claim, I was told that Steven’s episode did not meet its criteria.’ According to Aviva’s terms and conditions, a heart attack is ‘the death of a portion of the heart muscle as a result of inadequate blood supply, as evidenced by an episode of typical chest pain, new electrocardiograph changes and the elevation of cardiac enzymes’. Aviva says Steven’s records show he suffered a disruption to the electrical system of his heart, causing it to stop beating. Vicky says: ‘We weren’t aware there was a difference between the two conditions. ‘Steven’s heart stopped for 20 minutes, he had to have a permanent defibrillator to stop him collapsing again, he suffers from shortterm memory loss and can’t drive for six months — surely that is critical enough.’ To make matters worse, Aviva updated its policy in 2013 to include cardiac arrest. Had the Huddlestons purchased their policy after this date, they would have been covered — though Aviva claims the premium would have been higher to account for this. This is not the first time an insurer has rejected a claim on this basis. In 2015, Money Mail reported how HSBC refused to pay a father-of-two £ 40,000 after he suffered a cardiac arrest, citing small print in the policy. It was only after we stepped in that the bank agreed to pay the claim. After Money Mail contacted Aviva, it agreed to cover six months of Steven’s salary and pay for private rehabilitation. The insurer said it could not pay out the full claim, as Steven’s doctor had said he would make a full recovery. But Steven has been referred to a cardiologist for further tests and Aviva is understood to be reviewing the case again. A spokesman says: ‘We understand this is a difficult time for Mr Huddleston and his family and we are supporting him in his recovery. Although his critical illness policy does not cover cardiac arrest, which is different to a heart attack, we have provided financial support that covers loss of earnings for Mr Huddleston since his illness and clinical support while he continues to recover. ‘This support is separate to his critical illness claim, which we are unable to pay out based on the medical information to date. ‘We understand Mr Huddleston is under cardiology review and we will continue to monitor any changes to his diagnosis to see whether we are able to meet the claim.’