One of my student’s husband was working on his motorbike…

They have Critical Illness cover but the insurers are saying he’s had an accident, which is not the same thing. A quick bit of googling suggests some conditions (e.g. blindness) might be covered.

Any thoughts?

IANA’dodgy insurance broker’

But I’d ask what condition caused it, and check with the policy documents.

Suspect “cackhandedness” may not be on the list of conditions though.

Even if it just dropped off of it’s own accord I still wouldn’t think it’s covered. Not quite life changing in the way blindness is

I’d guess all policies would be different but illness isn’t the same as accident. Critical Illness cover is fairly widespread, whereas accident cover seems to be a bit specialist and sold to people who like dangerous hobbies and stuff.

“Stumpy” Stoner to the forum, please……

Is the loss of a thumb classed as a critical illness? If the person can answer that question then they may have the answer to the wider question.

The only correct answer is RTFT&Cs

“Stumpy” Stoner to the forum, please……

He’s desperately trying to type a response using a pencil held in his teeth..

but the insurers are saying he’s had an accident, which is not the same thing.

There’s no distinction between illness & accident in any policies I’ve seen, e.g. if you lose a leg you lose a leg, doesn’t matter how it happened. A thumb sounds too trivial to pay out for though, never seen it specifically mentioned, unless you were a concert pianist or something and had it written into your cover.

As above though, depends on the specific wording so

RTFT&Cs

He’s gone blind as a result of losing his thumb? 😯

Slightly more serious answer….

What critical illness does he now have?

Yep, they generally spell out what is covered under these, but I’d have thought loss of a thumb wouldn’t be covered. Doing a brief google you’d need to lose an arm at least unfortunately. FWIW IAADodgy insurance broker – but this isn’t my area.

Where did the OP mention a thumb?

Where did the OP mention a thumb?

Have you considered making a claim for impaired vision? 😉

The critical illness cover I have would only kick in if you lost a whole hand or foot. “Check the T&Cs” is the best advice.

Ah, bugger it. Viewing on mobile so the thread title is truncated….

He’s gone blind as a result of losing his thumb?

If it’s his right thumb, there might be something he can’t do and not doing that might save him from going blind?

Critical Illness means an illness that will end in your death doesn’t it?
So unless you have a Critical illness AND accidental injury policy it is unlikely to cover a thumb.

The critical illness cover I have would only kick in if you lost a whole hand or foot

…or not, as the case may be.

Might be worth looking under personal accident type covers.

The only correct answer is RTFT&Cs

^

however, loss of a thumb while inconvenient and traumatic, is neither an illness, nor critical. I’d be surprised if covered…

Critical Illness means an illness that will end in your death doesn’t it?
So unless you have a Critical illness AND accidental injury policy it is unlikely to cover a thumb.

Nope…probably more like an illness that could end in your death.

L&G paid out following my wife’s stroke. Simple operation to tie up hole in heart, discharged…

There are some qualifying criteria though, id be absolutely amazed if a policy paid out for losing a thumb – that’s never gonna kill you (unless it’s bitten off by a shark, who then eats the rest of you)

After I got caught out tickling my motorbike, I did have a rifle through all our health insurance (life, critical illness etc) policies to see if I might wing a new bike or something.

Unfortunately it turned out I needed to have lost both hands simultaneously in some gruesome bloody mess to even register on the financial sympathy scale.

Unless his thumb is specially insured because he’s a pro-hitch-hiker or something, I doubt he’s in for much luck.

…or not, as the case may be.

Well I laughed.

Unfortunately it turned out I needed to have lost both hands simultaneously in some gruesome bloody mess to even register on the financial sympathy scale.

Easily done, just need to use a defib on an alien infected artic scientist…

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjIXwkX1e48[/video]

Thanks all, will ask them to bring in the paperwork and RTFT&Cs.

He’s a chef (10 years plus), now thinking of retraining as a driver. Accident cover would clearly have been the one to have, which raises a larger question: how many of you have what kinds of insurance?

My Hiscox insurance covered a minimal amount for a month while I recovered from removing a ligament from my thumb. Couldn’t drive so couldn’t attend sites which was the bulk of my work.

which raises a larger question: how many of you have what kinds of insurance?

I have accident cover up to £400K. Just looked at loss of a thumb and I would get £80K