say 12 months, but the insurer will only pay for ten months. Sorry û it's preventative Your insurance is designed to pay for the treatment and cure of conditions when they arise. It is not designed to pay for treatments that are used to prevent an illness. Again, the problem of definition arises. Sometimes it is arguable whether a treatment is preventative or a cure. Take the drug Herceptin for example. This drug can be used in the early stages of breast cancer. Research shows that Herceptin can halve the incidence of cancer returning for women who have a particularly virulent form of the cancer known as HER2. In this situation, is Herceptin offering a cure or is it a preventative? Insurance companies are split on the debate. Norwich Union, WPA, BUPA and Standard Life Healthcare will pay for Herceptin for HER2 patients whereas Legal and General and Axa PPP will not. Sorry û the drug is not approved Two of the main attractions for taking out medical insurance are: to jump the queues at the NHS, and to get the latest treatments and drugs. But there's a rider. The Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence exists to approve the use of new drugs by the NHS in England and Wales. Until that body has approved the drug your insurer is unlikely to pay for its use. The problem is that the Institute's brief is to perform a cost/benefit analysis to ensure that the financial benefits to the nation from using the drug, outweigh the costs of using it in the NHS. A difficult brief and it has placed the Institute under scrutiny for the extended delays in drug approval. The compromise hit on by the Financial Ombudsman is that if your medical policy won't pay for the use of experimental treatments, then it should meet the cost of an approved conventional treatment with the policyholder footing the bill for the balance if the experimental treatment is more expensive. Sorry û it's a pre-existing condition The basic principle is that if you are already suffering from a condition when you start a policy, then that condition ôpre-existsö the policy and any claims for its treatment are invalid. For this reason, insurance companies insist you complete an exhaustive questionnaire before they agree to insure you. After all they need a clear picture of your medical condition before they quote. For many applications, the insurer will, with your approval, also write to your GP for specific details of your medical history. They like to have a complete picture. So lets say some years ago
piece
is
an
abstract
triptych
that
I
found
while
I
was
in
Atlanta
buying
religious
paintings
The
piece
was
called
Guardian
Angel
and
I
love
it
My
patrons
fell
in
love
with
it
as
well
They
have
asked
me
to
track
down
the
artist
and
see
if
he
has
anymore
religious
paintings
available
The
only
religious
paintings
that
I
actually
do
not
buy
are
ones
that
reflect
the
image
of
Jesus
on
the
cross
I
don’t
have
a
problem
with
them
some
of
them
are
extremely
well
done
and
would
more
than
likely
sell
well
but
my
investors
made
it
very
clear
when
they
financed
the
gallery
that
I
would
not
put
that
image
into
it
PPPPP
683
Ajello
Candles
The
motto
of
the
Ajello
Candle
Company
is
“It’s
better
to
light
a
candle
than
to
curse
the
darkness”
This
candle
making
company
has
been
in
business
since
1775
The
business
has
been
family
owned
for
seven
generations
The
candles
from
Ajello’s
are
well
known
for
their
beauty
and
quality
While
they
make
more
candles
now
than
in
1775
their
dedication
to
quality
and
to
customers
has
never
changed
The
Ajello
Candle
Company
was
founded
by
Rafael
Ajello
an
Italian
painter
He
was
also
a
beekeeper
so
he
tried
his
hand
at
using
bees
wax
to
create
candles
He
worked
hard
to
create
a
formula
that
worked
well
The
formula
combined
with
his
outstanding
artistic
ability
lead
to
the
birth
of
the
Ajello
Candle
Company
In
1785
the
company
earned
the
honor
of
creating
all
the
candles
for
the
Vatican
He
and
his
wife
ran
the
business
keeping
their
children
involved
in
the
processes
from
an
early
age
As
time
went
on
their
children
and
grandchildren
kept
the
business
running
as
well
as
passed
the
family
business
on
to
their
children
By
1862
the
company
had
established
itself
as
a
leader
among
the
candle
making
industry
They
had
also
added
perfumes
and
many
.
Share this

SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
Join us for free and get valuable content delivered right through your inbox.