Dancing with Allianz

Perhaps some of you have watched it; there is a dance scene in the film "Scent of a Woman," starring Al Pacino, whose acting I believe reached its peak. If the person you are dancing with knows what they are doing, dancing is the most beautiful thing in the world, but if you don't understand what the other person is doing or what they intend to do, dancing becomes an endless torment. Commerce is like that, too. The person providing the service must have clear rules so that you know what you can do.  

Our story begins 3 years ago, if I remember correctly. My wife wanted to get private health insurance for our children. In such situations, I generally prefer to follow the rules of whoever the agent is. Because I think that whatever needs to be discussed, the agent will discuss it. Whichever insurance company they recommend is the right one. My wife spoke with a nearby agent, and they deemed it appropriate for us to work with Allianz. We took out supplementary health insurance policies.

I generally don't use my own phone number for these types of services because I am very busy, but somehow Allianz reached my phone. SMS messages keep coming. "Would you like a coffee?" "Will you do this?" I try not to be bothered, thinking they are probably trying to sell a lifestyle. But deep down, I think, "Hey, the loyalty system in this country doesn't work anyway!" There is a SushiCO that employs people. We try to give them an award, and they reject the award. So, even the best in the country don't believe in loyalty. Why don't you do something for the sake of insurance? I say, but I don't want to say it. Anyway, two years passed with these thoughts. 

Our story began this autumn while we were trying to renew our Allianz policy. As we were busy with the children's registration processes and some investment plans, my wife called one day and informed me that there was a problem with the supplementary health insurance at Allianz. I didn't understand what had happened to our relationship, which had been going great for two years?!? I asked my wife. My wife had a health issue when our first child was born. The condition could not be diagnosed, and it healed without any treatment anyway. Nothing has happened regarding the matter for ten years. But perhaps Allianz wanted to use this as an excuse to say they couldn't provide supplementary insurance to my wife. Now, if it had happened a year ago, I would understand. Moreover, if it had been diagnosed, I would understand that too, but this was completely out of the blue. Anyway, after a few meetings and about a month, we proved through doctor consultations and tests that the illness had not been diagnosed, and they decided to provide us all with supplementary insurance. 

Some time passed, and that is where the real drama began. One Sunday morning, as we were preparing for breakfast as a family, my wife fell to the floor as soon as she got out of bed. I think anyone who has a loved one can guess what goes through a person's mind at that moment. While I was rejoicing that she hadn't hit her limbs anywhere, she said, "My leg isn't working." I scooped her up and we found ourselves at the hospital. With the children and everything, a terrible Sunday had begun. To prevent the children from catching an illness, we left them in the car, checking on them every fifteen minutes, while I took my wife into the hospital through the emergency room. First, an X-ray and a CT scan were taken. But only I know what I went through. An X-ray is taken, I pick my wife up, put her in a chair, take her to the emergency doctor's door, then go back to the parking lot to check on the children and take care of their needs, then go back inside and do the same things for the CT scan. Since my wife's leg wasn't working, I had to seat her on every device myself. 

When nothing showed up on the X-ray and CT scan, the emergency doctor became concerned and called the hospital's (MedicalPark) neurology doctor from home. The doctor came running without hesitation, thank goodness. She mentioned the possibility of it being MS. Of course, we were very scared. However, she said that an MRI needed to be taken to check this, and that it could only happen towards morning when the MRI machine was free. Our children are in the car, my wife cannot walk, and the possibility of MS is being discussed. You can guess how difficult a situation we were all in. 

The neurology doctor said, "I have to admit her." I said, "Of course, whatever needs to be done." A relative came with a spare key I had left somewhere for our children and took them along with my car. We completed the admission procedures. With tests, admission, IV drips, etc., it became 12:00 PM on Sunday. Since I didn't have my car, we gathered our needs from here and there and went to bed without even eating with my wife. Since the hospital's main cafeteria wasn't open on Sunday evening, we couldn't even find a snack. Don't get me wrong, I'm not telling this to dramatize it. I want to explain the circumstances under which we made the decision to be admitted. Towards morning, my wife had three MRIs. Around 8:00 AM, our doctor came and gave us the good news. It might be a pinched nerve. She said to stay one more night, but we decided to go home so our children wouldn't be miserable outside. 

Up until this point, we thought we had supplementary insurance. Then the person who was going to handle our discharge procedures came and said that Allianz had not approved the procedures. I remembered the umbrella story told about banks, but we had spent such a difficult night and were so worried about our children's situation that I made the payment and left. Our neurology doctor wrote a special letter to Allianz, but it was rejected. I was just about to say, "There's no hope for this Allianz," when they called me. I hadn't made the payment, and they could cancel the contract at any moment. Now you tell me; does this payment to an insurance company that acts like a hawk when it comes to collection fit with justice, law, and morality?