Insurance claims performance

My name's Andrew DaSilva. I live in Derby, massive Derby County fan. I've been a financial adviser for just over 30 years now.

Late last summer, I suddenly developed a really bad urine infection. On the back of the infection, the doctor said it'd be wise to be prostate checked as well, which I thought there's nothing wrong. All the results came back in. I went to see the consultant and he said, "Sorry to tell you, but you have got prostate cancer." When you're first told that, your head is absolutely spinning about a hundred miles an hour. Am I going to die? Is this the last year of my life? What about my family?

Offered two types of treatment, radiotherapy or prostate removal, and I opted to go for the prostate removal. Fortunately, I had a critical illness insurance policy with Royal London. It's a policy I'm a great believer in for all my clients, therefore, I had it myself. So as soon as I got my diagnosis, I went straight to the claims team with Royal London. Royal London were really empathetic and helpful from the moment I picked the phone up. I had a dedicated person helping me all the way through the claims process, so they made it clear really early that, yes, this will pay out. I wanted the money to be paid out pre the operation. They were really keen to help me get that payment process done quickly and they paid out the claim within two weeks.

Going into operation, you're obviously really nervous because you're scared of what else they might find, but going into operation knowing I had no financial worries at all was a really big help. I had my prostate removed at the end of January. Four weeks later, got a phone call from the nurse. She basically said, "Great news, your cancer's gone and it's not spread anywhere, so from today onwards, you are cancer free." It's one of the most emotional days of my life. It's like your football team winning the last minute away. I found the whole process of Royal London and the claims very easy. It also made the recovery process much smoother because I could completely relax with no financial stress at all. It was a big plus to have had the plan and I'm the proof that it actually does work when you need it.