THE DIAGNOSIS LIT A FIRE

In December 2016, Jeannette Alligood and her husband, David, thought they might save some money by bundling life insurance through the same company that handles their car and homeowners’ insurance. The only problem: two weeks after they took the required blood test to qualify for coverage, their insurance agent called to tell Jeannette she had been denied.

“I was shocked,” says Jeannette, now 47. “I knew I was about 50kg overweight, but I never had any health problems. David and I both thought I was the healthier of the two of us.”