Baby Lillie was just one month old when she passed away after undergoing two major operations on her bowels and suffering a bout of meningitis, which spread in and around her brain.
Her mother, protection adviser Emma Astley, was 24-and-half weeks pregnant when Lillie was born prematurely.
When Astley went into labour, she was passed between hospitals due to capacity issues.
She was then told the labour had stopped, and that after two days of bed rest she would be able to move around again.
But while her husband went home to get a change of clothes, Astley gave birth to Lillie on a hospital toilet.
“It was awful. She got scooped off and taken away. We were separated then for several hours due to how much blood I had lost,” Astley told FTAdviser.
In the weeks that passed, Lillie was kept in an incubator on oxygen support. That’s when there was a medical emergency involving her bowels, and the family was rushed to another hospital.
Even though we were struggling with the grief of Lillie and looking after our five-year old son, we were worrying about paying the bills and the rent.Emma Astley, Cover My Bubble
Lillie survived her first operation, despite just a 10 per cent chance of success. A week later, her bowels burst again, and she survived a second operation.
“She was doing so well. We thought she was going to pull through. She was a little fighter, and we wrote in her diary every day telling her how well she was doing and fighting for us.
“I still can’t read this diary to this day because of the memories.” said Astley.
But a couple of weeks later, Lillie was diagnosed with meningitis and her family had to say goodbye to her.
Astley was working full-time before she had Lillie but after the birth, she lost her monthly income of £1,200.
“That had a massive impact financially for us. Even though we were struggling with the grief of Lillie and looking after our five-year old son, we were worrying about paying the bills and the rent,” Astley recalled.
Her husband kept his job as a delivery driver, but with just one income to rely on, the couple fell into debt for more than 10 years.
Struggling to pay for essentials such as petrol, they borrowed money from various family members.
As difficult as it’s been to open up and share out story, it really is helping people.Emma Astley, Cover My Bubble“I wish we’d known about insurance. If we’d known about income protection. While there probably wasn’t 'bump cover' back then, there was cover for children. Lillie would have had cystic fibrosis,” Astley explained.
“There were a lot of complications there that actually would pay out on a policy these days. That would have helped us financially through a difficult time.
“It’s my job to speak about what we went through, to try and educate families to make them aware that protection is not only affordable, but also that there are options available.”
Astley said her mental health suffered for years after Lillie’s death. This was exacerbated by the embarrassment she and her husband felt borrowing money from their family.
“This is why we’re doing what we’re doing. As difficult as it’s been to open up and share our story, it really is helping people,” she said.
‘Families don’t want to be hounded’
Astley’s firm, Cover My Bubble, was founded in 2018 and last month (November), she had her busiest four-week period yet for policies arranged for her clients.
Based in Lancashire, Cover My Bubble is telephone-based so clients stretch UK-wide, from down south right up to Scotland.
Women mid-way through pregnancy, as well as women undergoing rounds of IVF, victims of sexual abuse and, more recently, men, get in touch with Astley’s firm.
We are also seeing a lot more men disclose more about their mental health on applications.Emma Astley, Cover My BubbleOne of the types of cover she advises on is ‘bump cover’.
Astley recently dealt with her first baby loss claim, after a client lost their son.
“I had to fight to get it paid out, and in the end she got 12 months off work to spend with her daughter. She’s now started her own business,” said Astley.
She continued: “There’s more than just life cover. Too many adverts shout about life cover when there are other, more affordable products out there.
“We’ve created a safe space for families to talk about insurance. Families don’t want to be hounded.
“Before, they might have put their details into a website and been pounded with calls, being pushed to take out insurance when they didn’t have time to think and ask questions, so they just block the number.
“This is pushing families further away from taking out insurance. But my clients know I will genuinely try my hardest and it's a safe space to talk about insurance for them.”
Current dads and dads-to-be have increasingly been getting in touch with Astley.
While they are more sceptical at first of insurance, she said she tends to win them around by the end of an initial call and end up having an enjoyable call which is more personal.
“There is a stigma with life insurance. A lot of men say their cover is already ok. But if you break it down with them, you realise they’re worried about cost,” said Astley.
“Being sceptical is a good thing because there are companies out there which are just looking for a quick sale.
“We are also seeing a lot more men disclose more about their mental health on applications.”
‘No-one was listening so I started my own business’
Before she set up Cover My Bubble, Astley was working within an insurance firm on the administrative side.
She worked her way up to management, where she found herself managing relationships with appointed representative firms totalling more than 100 advisers.
“It was so frustrating that they weren’t listening to my feedback,” said Astley. “I learnt a lot but no-one was listening. I spent eight years in that company, I’m a loyal person. But I eventually got out and decided to help people myself.”
Astley and her husband have always called their family their bubble, so the name ‘Cover My Bubble’ seemed apt.
Four and a half years after starting the business, Astley runs Cover My Bubble with three of her best friends.
Some clients enquire about bump cover, while others look at children critical illness cover and income protection.
They didn’t know about these covers previously and only think they need life insurance based on adverts and previous experiences with other brokers.
“I see Lillie as a five-year old girl. When I’m speaking, she’s always there with me. I’m lucky that I can share her. It helps me that she’s included and people are saying her name,” said Astley.
ruby.hinchliffe@ft.com
