Grantham mother with cancer secures £100,000 payout after battle with Aviva over critical illness cover

A mother is urging others to “check, check, check your policies” after an insurance giant initially denied her a £100,000 payout following a cancer diagnosis.

Emerald Southern-Darbar, 41, originally from Grantham, successfully battled Aviva to reinstate her critical illness, life insurance and income protection policies after an initial refusal following a triple-negative breast cancer diagnosis in July.

Her victory comes with a stark warning to others: meticulously check policy details to avoid similar distress.

Emerald, now living in New Eltham, London, but with strong family ties to Grantham where her parents run The Conduit Tea Gardens, took out the policies in 2024 to secure her family’s future, paying around £100 a month across the three policies.

However, when she received her diagnosis, Aviva initially declined her claim and cancelled her policies.

The reason cited was a minor, unrelated technicality concerning an ultrasound referral that never took place.

“I was absolutely distraught,” Emerald said.

“My main concern was that my income protection had gone, and with 24 weeks of chemo, surgery and radiotherapy, I just didn’t know how we would manage.

“I also felt terribly guilty that I had let my daughter down and left my family wide open.”

“I was faced with the reality of having to work through chemo, when I didn’t know whether this would be possible,” she added.

The denial, she said, made her angrier than she had ever been and caused stress that affected her sleep and eating habits.

“We took out these policies to protect us and our daughter in a time of great need, of course hoping we would never have to use them.”

In response, Emerald launched a petition on Change.org, gaining 797 supporters, and appealed against the decision.

This public pressure, combined with advocacy from family, friends and organisations such as Resolute Claims, prompted Aviva to review her case.

An Aviva spokesperson said: “When applying for critical illness cover, the customer did not disclose an outstanding referral from her GP for a medical scan.

“In these circumstances, we would normally wait for the outcome of the scan and then consider what insurance cover we could offer.

“As we were unaware of the referral for a scan when the policy was taken out, we initially declined the claim.”

However, the spokesperson added: “Following further investigation, taking into account our customer’s individual circumstances, we revised our decision, paid the critical illness claim and reinstated her life and income protection cover.

“We believe this outcome reflects both the importance of accurate disclosure and our commitment to a fair review for customers.

“We encourage all customers to ensure that they tell us about any outstanding investigations or referrals and inform us if their health circumstances change.”

Aviva ultimately settled Emerald’s claim in full with interest, reinstating her life insurance and income protection.

Emerald credited the support of many, including Kester Brewin, who ran the #nicsfight campaign in 2013, for providing invaluable guidance.

“We were so lucky that Aviva reviewed my case earlier than anticipated and agreed to honour the critical illness claim and reinstate the life insurance and income protection,” Emerald said.

“We got the outcome we were hoping for very unexpectedly.

“I’m so grateful that the right decision was reached in the end, so that I can concentrate on hopefully getting better without financial strain – the very reason we had the policies in the first place.”

Emerald’s advice to others is clear: “Check, check, check your policies – if you’re unsure, then it might be worth cancelling and reinsuring.

“Everything has to be totally watertight.

“Read every email alert – it’s the small print that will catch people out.”

She hopes her experience will prompt a review of insurance codes to prevent others from facing similar challenges.