On 21th Jan 2007 a big article was published in Straits Times article regarding a case which a cancer patient was refused claim against the Aviva Myshield plan because it was a pre-existing condition. Aviva stand was that the condition was pre-existing condition and hence they will not pay - nevermind that the condition was unknown to the insured. This causes an uproar in the public place.

To add salt to the wound, NTUC Income (and another insurer)  told The Straits Times that "if a policyholder is genuinely unaware of a medical condition which is diagnosed only after the policy inception, they would pay the claim. AIA added that the insured must not have any symptoms at the time he took up the policy. " This made Aviva in a very bad light and after 1 year later, some of my new clients still have a very bad impression of Aviva. Sometime they will say very nasty things like - "Don't recommend Aviva to me, they will not pay". I want to challenge NTUC Income for stating that they will pay if the policyholder genuinely was unware of the pre-existing condition. My client did not know of her pre-existing condition when she sign up for the NTUC Enhanced Incomeshield Preferred plan. Months later she required an operation and according to the doctor's report, the condition started 1 year ago - prior to the policy inception. NTUC Income rejected the claim because of pre-existing condition. Two persons from NTUC Income told me that their stand is that even for unknown pre-existing condition, they WILL NOT PAY. So why the contradiction to the newspaper report? Was NTUC Income trying to score points? SHOULD I photocopy the newspaper report and send it to the CEO that they must honour what they say in the newspaper? See http://forums.sgfunds.com/viewtopic.php?t=4946 for the newspaper report.

Addition (9 Feb 2008): The case is resolved and Income has admitted liability. My client demostrated that there is no evidence that the illness is pre-existing.