AXA Partners has faced criticism after it told the family of a woman who was in a coma after a road accident in the United States that she would need to be repatriated to the UK despite medical advice against the move. Jane Rubens has been in hospital in St Louis, Missouri, since the incident earlier in November. Five operations, including a cranioplasty to remove part of her skull, have been performed in the US. However, her insurers initially contacted her family to say she would be repatriated on 25 November or they would cancel her insurance. The company later rescinded the decision.
Rubens, 73, from Edinburgh, had taken out a policy with AXA Partners that covered medical expenses up to a value of £15m ($19m). Her two children wrote to the NHS and the charity Headway as well as seeking guidance from medics in the US before deciding to urge AXA Partners not to move their mother. On Sunday, an e-mail sent to Rubens’ family via the insurer said that based on medical information provided “it has been confirmed that your mother … is fit to fly … with immediate effect”. The Mail on Sunday claimed the family was given just nine hours to comply.
Cat Rubens, Jane’s daughter, said that her mother’s potential repatriation had placed the family “in an impossible position. You have asked us to agree to a repatriation plan in respect of which we have no proper details, not even the name of her receiving physician in the UK.” The Sunday Times reports that Cat Rubens posted on social media seeking support, leading to an apology from AXA Partners, which claimed it was “considering all available options”.
Other insurers have been criticised recently for similar refusals to pay out in medical cases. Campaigners have called for greater regulation in the sector. In August, Lloyds caught flak after refusing to pay out £200m ($256m) to cancer patients who had paid their premiums but been denied payouts. The case led some to doubt the viability of profit-making insurance businesses in the sector
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