In August my husband retired from Verizon PA after 38.3 years of service. For more then 30 of those years, he carried and paid for out of his salary weekly, a supplemental life policy through Metlife. When he retired we were told we could keep the policy (which was then worth 183,000 dollars) for free, but it would be reduced to 65,000.) We also had the option of converting it to a private policy for which we would pay the premiums - and since he was starting his own business - we took that option.
We met with an agent locally at their recommendation - and paid the premium for the full year to October 26th in full. The premium was for "smokers." They knew this upfront. The sent a nurse to our home, who did a physical and drew three viles of blood. All of the results came back clean. My husband saw a doctor for regular check ups every year, and all was fine.
In April he had a small inguinal hernia repaired at the hospital, and all of his pre-op testing came back fine as well. At the end of May his hip and lower back started bothering him - and after many trips to our GP, many tests and xrays, all of which came back unremarkable or inconclusive - a Cat Scan revealed a small lung tumor in June. We saw a pulmonologist, and he did a "lung brushing" through a bronchoscopy - and a week later we got the results. He was diagnosed with lung cancer.
We were scheduled to see the doctor on July 3rd (oncologist) to begin treatment, but he wound up in the hospital that day, and began chemo while there. He was released on July 11th. He did very well with chemo and radiation - and we went to our daughters' wedding on July 19th in Raleigh (we live in PA) and he went on his annual fishing trip to Canada in August (17th to 24th of 2008.) When he came back he had a pet-cat scan on Sept 5th - and we were elated. He had gained back 24 pounds and his tumor was 90% dead - and the other cancer cells were dieing. His oncologists were amazed.
Less then 10 days later on the 14th of September, I had to readmit him to the hospital - and his oncologists had him there till October 10th - doing chemo and radiation. Nine oncologists told us they had never seen anything turn around from "almost nothing" to nearly virulent so fast. He came home on October 10th - had a great day the next day with our kids and grandkids - but on the 12th, I again had to have him admitted to the hospital. He passed on the 13th. Our family is devestated.
I met with our Metlife agent on October 23rd, and filed the initial paperwork. I had just paid another full years' premium on October 1st, which they cashed.
He told me they would most likely contest it, because the policy was less then a year old when my husband died - and when someone dies within 2 years of getting a policy - they investigage it. My issue is that he had the policy for over 30 years through work - it was NOT a "new policy"- and we only converted it to private AFTER he retired.
Twenty six days later - I got a call from a Metlife Investigator, and I met him on November 19th at the agents office. I refused to meet him at my home. I gave him all of the information he wanted - and all of the doctors names and contact info so he could get my husbands' medical files. They wanted to Prove that we knew my husband had cancer when we got the policy converted in October.
We did NOT. He gave me a permission form to sign and have notarized and return to him, which I did within a days' time - and sent copies to all of my husbands' doctors with a letter from myself - givng permission for them to release his medical records. This clown asked me for a copy of my husbands' will - even though on the Metlife Policy - he left the policy to me 100%.
I refused that request - stating that it was a personal and private document, and none of his business - or Metlifes'.
The document he gave me had a paragraph which stated that giving my permission would also allow them to check our personal financial records. I circled 'I give permission for Metlife to obatain personal medical records in my spouses' name" only - and at each of the other paragrapsh - I wrote "Denied." Our financial business had nothing to do with his death, and Metlife had been paid in full for our policy.
As of December 15th - the oncologists' office called to tell me that had NOT to date been contacted - and asked if I wanted them to fax the records to the insurance investigator. I checked - and none of his doctors whos' names I gave them had been contacted. I emailed Metlife, and got a call from a woman who was "handling" my "case" from the Rhode Island office. She told me she had been in touch with Charles O'Neill-the investigator - and he said he HAD the medical records. I know for a fact that he did Not, thanks to the call from the oncologist and my following up with the other doctors the same day.
Now I'm sitting here - 44 days after meeting this investigator and 71 days after meeting our agent and starting the paperwork, into the new year,
and I haven't heard from any of them - in writing, by phone or in any other way what-so-ever. I'm at the end of my rope with these people. They have our money paid for two years of premiums - the first which ended October 26th (13 days AFTER my husband died.) and the second that I paid in advance on October 1st for October 26th.) I certainly would not have done that if i had KNOWN my husband was not coming out of the hospital on the 13th!
They KNEW he was a smoker - and we paid smokers rates. They did thier own physical and drew blood. Nothing came back indicating he was sick back then, or when he had his hernia repaired in April of 08. My husbands' medical records very clearly show we had NO prior knowledge of his condition when we converted that policy from Verizon to private. They've had more then adequate time to perform "due diligence" on Metlifes' behalf and they're leaving me hanging, in additon to having accepted another full years' policy premium on top of it.insurance companies are only in the business of collecting premiums, and will cancel you in a heartbeat if you DON'T pay but when it comes down to them paying YOU - forget it.
I would not recommend Metlife to anybody - they have put me through hell with thier nasty insinuations that we Knew my husband was sick when we converted the policy - if we HAD known - we wouldn't have been getting life insurance and planning a business and our future - we would have had him in treatment 8 months sooner then we DID! This policy was not "new"- they just call it "new"-it's over 30 years old - just converted.
I've been through this before unfortunately - my first husband died at 43 after a two week diagnosis, and had Metlife Supplemental through work - but HE died while in-service - and I had not one problem then, in 1995. Now I'm finding it is easier to be a terrorist and enter this country illegally - then it is to prove my husband and I are honest, hard working people - and had no prior knowledge of his condition.
Even his doctors can attest to the fact that prior to his diagnosis in June - other then his hernia repair in April of 08- he was totally healthy - other then a bit of arthritis in his neck - which he received PT for and was fine - two years prior to that. I'm dumbfounded by all of this.
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