“Things were proceeding normally with the bank, which had issued us with a sanction letter. Then the matter of life insurance came up. We were offered a policy by the bank, but thought we’d shop around to try and find a better deal,” Cremona said. 

What followed was an emotional rollercoaster that has left him no closer to securing his loan. 

“We were quite happy because we did find a cheaper policy. We started filling out the forms and providing them with the information they required, but the second I mentioned my condition, they immediately said ‘no’. A flat out no,” Cremona recounted. 

The couple decided to try another insurance company and similarly found that its tone changed when he mentioned his heart condition. “This time they told me that they could not proceed with the application until six months have passed.”

Unable to understand what the reason for this was, he was told that needed to wait for the results of his next check-up.

“I gave them all my results from the last four years – ECGs, echocardiograms, doctors reports – I gave them everything, but they still insisted on me waiting for my next check-up.”

After pressing the insurance broker further, he was eventually told that he could submit an application, but only one month after he had received the second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. 

Though he found this strange, he didn’t think much of it, and he contacted the bank once again, figuring that he could take the bank’s offer and move on with things. 

Much to his disappointment, however, the bank had a similar reaction upon finding out about his condition. 

“They said that if they decided to insure me – and there was no guarantee that my application would be accepted – that I’d have to pay 200% more to be insured,” he said 

Besides being told he would need to pay a lot more than others to obtain his coverage, the bank also told Cremona that he would need to wait for him to be fully vaccinated before he can submit an application. 

He has since reached out to a number of other insurance companies and managed to get an extension on his promise of sale, but he isn’t too hopeful. 

“It’s frustrating because I can’t live my life. What am I going to do? Spend my life unable to get a loan? It’s not like I can save money and buy something without a loan. It never really was possible and it’s even less so today.” 

He said that at this point, he had no other option.

“I need to wait for the vaccine and then see if anyone will accept my application.” 

Cremona said that while he understood that insurance companies had their own policies, he couldn’t get over the fact that he was being penalised for something he had no control over, while others who choose to live a lifestyle that puts them at greater risk aren’t. 

Cremona isn’t the only one that’s fallen through the system’s cracks. 

A spokesperson for Beating Hearts Malta, a Maltese association for adults and children with congenital heart defects, told Lovin Malta that many people in Cremona’s position experienced similar problems. 

The spokesperson said that the association had been trying to find a solution to the problem for a number of years. They said that the government had been actively engaging with stakeholders in order to find a solution. 

What do you make of Mark’s situation?