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Hello,

I am a 28 yo British male who was diagnosed with CD only 3 weeks ago by
biopsy. This List Server has been a great source of information for me
since then, so thank you all for that!

I have a question which I haven't seen mentioned before (it may only be
applicable to UK subscribers):

Has anybody had problems with life assurance - or any form of insurance
- due to their CD status?

I applied to Scottish Widows for an Endowment policy (along with life
assurance) about 4 weeks ago. This policy was to be used in conjunction
with an interest-only mortgage with the Abbey National for the purchase
of my first house.

At the time of application, my CD was undiagnosed and I had to declare
this on my application form. I received a letter from the Scottish
Widows' medical officer informing me that they would be writing to my Dr
for a report (as anticipated). This report was sent back to them
Wednesday 8th April.

Today (Tuesday 14th April) was the deadline for the exchange of
contracts. We knew the endowment policy would not be processed in time,
so my solicitor had already taken steps to ensure that the 'Sellers'
solicitors were informed of the situation and that everything else was
in place for exchange (I have my mortgage offer from the Abbey National
and my solicitor is holding the cheque for the 10% deposit).

The only problem I had expected with the policy was that my premiums may
have been 'loaded' for the first couple of years, as I had read
somewhere previously. I was therefore extremely shocked when I found out
that Scottish Widows have denied my application and was told that they
would not consider me for another 14 months!

Is this happening to others? Is my life expectancy so low? I'm sorry if
you are still reading this, as I have gone on a bit, but right now, I am
so angry and frustrated. Owning my own home is something I have been
saving for, working all the overtime I could for the past 4 years. The
implications of this official refusal for life assurance are still
sinking in. Does this mean that every application I make is going to go
through the same laborious exercise, even though I feel better now than
I have for months?

I will summarise any responses to this. Thanks for listening.

Jason Clark
Oxford
UK