The Insurance World – What is Insurable?
The insurance industry is a global one that is interconnected throughout most countries, industries, and activities of daily life the world over. Something that happens in the Eastern hemisphere could have implications on insurance companies in the Western hemisphere. This may seem complicated but when you boil it down to basics for insurance companies it is as simple as “take in as much money as we can” and “pay out as little money as possible”.
Insurance companies insure individuals and businesses for a multitude of things, including:
- Insurance for Homeowners
- Insurance for Automobiles
- Insurance for Disability
- Insurance for Travel
- Insurance for Businesses
- Insurance for Critical Illness
- Insurance for Renters
- Insurance for Identity Theft
- Insurance for Data Breaches
This insurance money to pay out claims around the world comes from the same “pot” and when the insurance company notices the overall funds available to them start to go down, they try to make up for it by denying legitimate claims.
There has been an ongoing series of events internationally which have increased insurance payouts the world over. There have been wildfires in California or Australia, flooding in British Columbia, Central Appalachia and Pakistan, hurricanes in the Atlantic regions, earthquakes in China, Afghanistan and Indonesia, and the COVID-19 pandemic to name only some of the more recent disasters. There was insurance claims related to all of these occurrences which lead to significant amounts of insurance payments being made. Since the start of the COVID-19 Pandemic there has been a record number of life insurance policies paid out, to the tune of $100 billion in the USA alone for 2021.
All of these factors lead to one conclusion, that insurance companies will be denying more claims to try to make up for their losses. This leads to the question, what to do when you Life Insurance claim is denied?
What To Do If Your Life Insurance Claim Is Denied
There are many types of life insurance policies. There are group policies that give people life insurance coverage further to their employment and then there are private policies obtained directly by an individual. You can also get life insurance through your mortgage.
Regardless of how life insurance coverage was obtained, that does not change the impact to the loved ones of someone who has passed when their claim for benefits under the life insurance policy are denied.
The first thing you should do if your life insurance claim is denied is ask for the entire file of the insurer. For them to give you this you will need to prove with documentation that you are the executor of the deceased’s estate or an estate trustee. If you do not already have documentation of this you may need to approach an estate lawyer to assist you in obtaining them. When you get the file materials you can look at the what the insurance company based their decision on and try to get them to change it.
If you can’t show that you are an executor or estate trustee or can’t convince the insurance company to change their denial of life insurance benefits, you will have to contact an insurance denial lawyer and start a lawsuit to get access to their file materials and to force the insurance company to pay the life insurance benefits you are rightfully entitled to.
There are strict timelines when it comes to starting a lawsuit for life insurance benefits. If you miss these deadlines, you will be prohibited from suing the insurance company.
If your life insurance claim has been denied contact the lawyers at Taylor & Blair LLP today.