Discovery Life ********* Practices - Denied Claim

I have been with Discovery since I started earning an income. I have Medical Aid, Insurance, Vitality, Life, Will, Retirement Annuity and Endowment Plans with them.

I update my personal policies about twice a year as income and life circumstances change regularly.

This complaint is specifically towards the Discovery Life Cover Policy I have (Which is quite comprehensive as myself and my Financial Adviser - Provided by Discovery keep everything up to date and make sure nothing is missed).

Last year August I unfortunately was admitted into Life The Glynnwood Hospital in Benoni due to extreme heart cramps, had problems breathing and couldn't sit or lay down as the cramps were severe. Upon admission, the late Dr Grigorov did a scan on my heart and saw that I have Myocarditis. I was then taken to a ward where I stayed for a week.

The Hospital and Discovery’s records show that I had ACUTE TRANSMURAL MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION OF THE ANTERIOR WALL which translates to Heart Attack.

My financial advisor told me that I have the Severe Illness Benefit on my policy which covers heart conditions and a lump sum should pay out upon a claim for the specific illness. I qualified for the Severity C - Myocardial Infarction (Heart Attack).

I had a Specialist Physician’s Statement, Doctor’s Declaration Form, 2 ECG’s showing the damage (Heart Attack), 4 Doctor’s saying I had a heart attack and the Hospital Admission Blood Tests which showed my Troponin levels extremely high indicating Heart Attack.

Discovery Life responded by rejecting my claim and stating that it didn’t qualify as Heart Attack. They didn’t even stop there, they reviewed my policy and changed it as I never told them I had a Heart Attack even though I was admitted and it was approved by Discovery and it’s on my online profile with them.

I am extremely disappointed that I have put all my personal and important policies with them, and when it comes to my health, they deny my claims even with all the medical documents and tests as support and proof of what happened.