In the third quarter of 2006, my mother's friend proposed an Aviva-Myshield plan for my father. My father has all along been healthy and was not on any medication or supplements except, for the time when he started to experience some pain in his right leg around the knee area. But he was not diagnosed with any major leg problem and the doctor advised him to take calcium supplement.

In the discussion of his medical plan, my mother repeatedly highlighted my father's leg condition to her friend and requested her to check if the plan would still cover his leg problem. The agent told my mother that she had checked and confirmed that the plan covered the leg problem since there was no major issue. With her assurance, my mother signed up the Aviva-Myshield plan for my father in December 2006.

Unfortunately, my father's leg problem worsened. In mid-2007, an SGH specialist advised my father to go for a knee replacement operation. My father went for the operation in September last year and the total cost of operation/hospitalisation was $13,471.40. When we made a claim for the medical bill, Aviva denied the coverage, reason being it is a pre-existing illness. Subsequently, my father's other leg suffered a similar problem and another knee replacement operation was conducted in January 2008. The cost of this knee replacement operation came up to another $13,794.12. Aviva again denied the coverage, citing the same reason.

When we made a complaint to Aviva, the insurer told us that my father's case was handled by an appointed third party, HSBC, and referred our case to them. Later, we received a business reply from Aviva saying that HSBC had conducted investigations, but were unable to substantiate any lapse in service. How can this happen?

Joyce Lau (Ms)