Don't Waste Money on Affinity Health Unless You Will Never Be Hospitalised

What good is insurance if it doesn't deliver in a near-death situation? The Customer Care of this company sucks so much that they are the first to recommend, to their own client, using a government hospital!

This happened to me! I was with Affinity Health for a couple of years. All was well with minor illnesses, until I had to be hospitalised and operated on. I ended up in a government hospital, because I didn't have enough money to pay upfront, despite paying almost R4,000 in monthly premiums.

It all started on a Monday afternoon on the 7th of February this year (2022). I started experiencing stomach pains. I thought it was one of those instances when I'd have a stomach bug. Only this time it was different. I took some painkillers and hoped it would have disappeared by morning.

On the morning of the 8th, the pain had escalated. But stupid me, I still hoped that it would disappear. Fast forward to a week later, on the 14th, on Valentine's Day, still hoping for the best, reluctantly, I decided to call Affinity Health.

As per custom, diagnosis is done by a nurse. I insisted that I needed to see a doctor. After some convincing, I was given the authorisation to see a doctor. The doctor took one look at me and noticed that I was in dire pain. After his diagnosis, he suggested I might have an exploded appendix, but needed a scan to confirm. She immediately referred me to a surgeon for scanning and possible surgery.

She referred to Life Groenkloof. I phoned Affinity Health for further authorisation. The consultant then told me that Affinity Health only approved sonar, not CT scan. So I decided to pay for it myself and the scan confirmed the doctor's prognosis. By the way, the hospital requested that I pay cash because Affinity Health had a horrible reputation of not paying claims. In this case, because I made a strong compelling case, the hospital was ready to make an exception.

So Affinity Health's consultant asked for the quotation. The whole time I was in excruciating pain, and I was of the belief that my nightmare was almost over. Little did I know that the ordeal was about to begin. The hospital gave a quote for R99,450 for a bed, surgery, etc. To my amazement, Affinity Health was only prepared to cover R44,000. Less than half. And their consultant told me straight up: "If you do not have the rest, please go to a government hospital, although you should know that we do not cover government hospital expenses!"

To cut the long story short, I had to go to a government hospital for surgery. Affinity Health got away with paying NOTHING for my medical expenses, despite my nearly R4,000 contribution every month.

Immediately I got out of hospital, my first order of business was to immediately cancel my policy with Affinity Health. Even after I had cancelled, they debited my account. Now I'm getting statements showing the numerous claims Affinity Health won't cover - claims from back before I had canceled the policy! Affinity Health is NOT ethical in their dealings! How do they get away with such kind of *****!

Now I am trying to get back my money. I know I never will. So my recommendation is NEVER EVER sign up with Affinity Health, unless you do not see yourself being admitted to hospital EVER!