Like many mortgage advisers, Ken Davies had spent years helping his clients understand why protecting their income, family and home matters.
As the main breadwinner in his house, he also understood the financial consequences of serious illness and that if he became unable to work, keeping up with his own mortgage payments could quickly become a challenge.
What he didn't expect was to experience those risks first hand, and twice within the space of a year.
They said ‘you're seriously ill… I was going into kidney failure'
When Ken began experiencing symptoms including coughing, sweating and tiredness after returning from a holiday in the summer of 2023, at first the doctors thought it was nothing and advised he take Gaviscon.
It was only when he was finally booked in for blood tests that his son Joel could see how unwell he was and suggested they immediately drive to A&E.
"The doctor came in and closed the doors and I remember thinking, this is a lot more serious than we were expecting," says Joel.
Unbeknownst to Ken, he was going into kidney failure.
"The doctors said ‘look, you're seriously ill. Your kidney function is 3 and it should be 90'. They had to rush me down to theatre and embolise the kidney," says Ken.
Eventually he was diagnosed with Goodpasture syndrome, a very rare, life-threatening autoimmune disease.
There is still an emotional rawness as Ken recollects those events and the fact his symptoms weren't immediately picked up.
"I knew at that point I was going to be on dialysis for the rest of my life…I think if they'd picked it up earlier, I could have been fine."
Suddenly, in 2024, I developed another cough and shortness of breath
Just under a year later, in July 2024, Ken began experiencing new symptoms.
"I developed another cough and shortness of breath," he recalls.
Fortunately, as he was already under the care of doctors because of his ongoing kidney dialysis, he was able to quickly undergo investigations and was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy – a disease effecting the heart muscle.
Following his first illness Ken was able to claim on his Vitality Serious Illness Cover plan and receive a 100% payout.
Importantly, because Ken had taken out protected cover with Vitality – the equivalent of today's Serious Illness Cover 2X and Serious Illness Cover 3X – his plan continued and he was able make another 100% claim, on the unrelated cardiomyopathy diagnosis.
While multiple serious illnesses may seem unusual, they are not as rare as many people assume. In 2025, one in 10 Serious Illness Cover claims were on plans that had already claimed before.
Looking back, Ken acknowledges that most critical illness plans would have paid out, given the seriousness of his conditions, "but they wouldn't have paid out twice," he says.
Both payouts provided Ken with a vital financial safety-net when he needed it most, helping him to keep up with his mortgage and other costs, with the illnesses forcing him to give up work for a time and eventually reduce his hours.
"The bills don't stop… if I didn't have that payout, I would have had to sell the house," he says.
I didn't intend on getting ill, but it happens
Today, Ken continues to manage the long-term effects of his illnesses while working reduced hours in the business him and Joel started.
The experience reinforced something he had been telling clients throughout his career: none of us expects to become seriously ill.
"I didn't intend on being ill, but it happens", he says.
Uniquely, Ken also continues to be covered by his Vitality Life and Serious Illness Cover. Should anything else happen, he could claim in full again for a third time.
Reflecting on his experience, Ken says how those Serious Illness Cover payouts meant he could "keep my house and do a little bit of work part-time".
"Vitality, for me, has had a huge difference to my life," he adds.
Watch Ken's story in the video below
