Hello all, my name is Alan Bush. I am 57 (58 this year) and had my larynx removed due to cancer on 6th May 1995. In September 1991 I had to have a triple heart by-pass. In both cases I recovered and returned to my full time epmployment which is negotiating contracts post cancer and was loss adjusting post heart by-pass.

I consider myself fortunate, I still attend heart clinic twice a year but was discharged from my follow up ENT clinic in 2000. Communication remains a problem in the sense that in situations where there is significant backgound noise I cannot make myself heard or understood but in an one to one situation whether face to face or on the telephone I can generally make myself understood.

I recently purchased a new house as my wife's mobility is severely restricted by emphyesema and we needed to get out of a first floor flat with common stairs. During this process I sought to obtain life assurance and this was declined due to my heart history. I am seriously ticked of by this as for the last 15 years I have been symptom free of angina and for the last 11 years I have not smoked. In the event that I do predecease my wife the only comfort she has currently are the benefits which would accrue under my employment package, which fortunately would cover the mortgage, but if I ever find myself unemployed by reason of sickness or redundancy my wife will not be protected in the event of my death. I could procure life cover in the event af accidental death but that is not the product I need. I expected to have to pay a premium for the appropriate product but neither I nor my finacial advisor ever seriously considered that I would be declined to be offered cover at all.

Cest la vie I guess but this experience has jaundiced my view fo the life insurance industry. I did not even ask for whole of life cover thinking that this would be too much of a risk, but simply to cover the time between now and when I formally retire at 65, at which time my pensions entitlement (I hope) would pay off the balance on the Mortgage. I will now have to survive seven years avoiding contention in my employment and worrying sick about the prospect (always in the background in my industry - Oil and Gas Sector) of redundancy.

If anyone out there knows of a specialist underwriter that would at least be willing to provide cover (whether I could afford it or not remains to be sen) I would appreciate details.

Getting life insurance is not easy. I was rejected for my "foreign" travel although I don't travel that much. I think the best way for you to get life insurance is through your job. If you have a full time job with benefits, then you can have life insurance and you don't have to apply for it.

my husband died of tongue cancer and he didn't have life insurance or disability insurance. So it was very tough for me to work 2 jobs to support the family. So I know understand your concern. The best thing to have is a good job with benefits. Unfortunately, when my husband got diagnosed, he was working 30 hours a week in a small pharmacy (he was a pharmacist), and they didn't have any benefits. So when he got sick, he had to stop working, and we got absolutely nothing.. and in addition to that, we had to wait 6 months until the social security benefits kicked in. My husband died after fighting cancer for 2 years, and even when he died he didn't qualify for medicare or medicaid because he wasn't on social security for 2 years. In the US you have to be on social security for 2 years to qualify for medicare and medicaid.. so this is really an unfortunate situation.. It is a disaster.


Bushra

Hi Danny,

Thankyou for taking the tme to reply it is appreciated, I note you are one of our American cousins' so even more appreciative of your intercession.

Fortunately I have kept my job and in fact was in Cairo last week helping tender for some offshore construction work in thw West Delta Deep Oilfield which is located offshore Alexandria. And yes for the moment through my company's benefits my wife whose mobility is severely restricted by reason of emphysema is well catered for financially. But I am getting on 7 years to formal retirement if I lose this job realsitically I will not get another and the only benefits that will survive will be my pension rights so I am concerned and angry that the Insurance Idustry is not doing the job it is there to do mitigate risk, not for them but their insured.

Your own story is frightening, and I can empathise with your predicament, here in teh UK everyone that is willing to do sod all can attract benefits like it is going out of style whereas folk like me will find it hard to qualify for benefits especially if termination comes as redundancy with a "golden handshake" also we no longer as you can imagine have dependent children and are expected, unlike single mothers, junkies and the job shy, to pretty much look after ourselves as best we can. However given the two regimes I guess I would rather be living in the UK than the USA as far as support for the underprivileged goes.

Thanks again for taking the time to reply you are a plucky woman, fiesty we would say over here, good for you, Alan

Dear Alan
I'm very sorry to hear about your wife's sickness. It is very difficult to see somebody in pain.

I cannot advise you about life insurance, but one thing you try to do is maybe to save money. Over here in the US, one would qualify for disability after 6 months of being disabled. So they say you have to have enough money for 6 months in the bank.

if you are working oversees, hopefully you are making more money. If you are willing to work in the Middle East (which happens to be where i am from - I'm from Jordan but I live in the US), countries where you can make a lot of money in relatively a short period of time is the Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates.. of course you would have to sacrifice because you're away from home, but you will be making more money. I heard of some people who go there even after they retire for a couple of years or so.. over there you don't pay taxes, so everything you make is yours.


Hopefully you will be able to keep your job for the next 7 years and you will retire and enjoy your retirement.

Bushra