Life Insurance Denial Lawyers
When a loved one passes away your world can be turned upside down. While money concerns are not the first thing that crosses someone’s mind after the death of a loved one, the financial responsibilities stemming from loss of life can include loss of income, funeral services costs, and managing debts such as mortgage payment. Life insurance protects the financial security of the family of the insured by giving them a tax-free payment when they need help the most. It is a type of insurance known as “peace of mind” insurance.
As with all types of insurance, unfortunately legitimate life insurance claims can be denied by insurance companies. When this happens you need an experienced insurance denial lawyer to assist you in forcing the insurance company to pay the benefits that you are entitled to.
Types Of Life Insurance Policies
When people have coverage for life insurance it usually is either part of a group policy or a private policy.
Group life insurance policies are pre-negotiated with insurance companies and offered as part of an insurance package (often coupled with disability insurance, health insurance and dental insurance) forming part of an employees remuneration. These policies are usually for lower amounts of coverage, but do not require any application or medical exams to qualify for.
Private insurance is often obtained through and insurance broker or insurance agent and needs to be applied for before an insurance company will approve coverage. The application process will usually include a questionnaire dealing with the applicant’s employment history, recreational hobbies, medical history and criminal history. There will also often be a paramedical exam. The insurance company will look at the applicant’s answers to the questionnaire and the results of the paramedical before underwriting the claim. Private insurance usually allows for greater amounts of coverage.
Common Reasons Life Insurance Claims Are Denied
There are numerous reasons a claim for benefits under a life insurance policy may be denied, however some of the more common reasons insurance companies deny life insurance claims are:
- Misrepresentation of a material fact
- Fraudulent representations by the insured
- Death by an excluded cause of death under the insurance policy
- Disagreement as to the cause of death
- Lapsed policies due to failure to pay premiums
These are only the most common reasons life insurance claims are denied and there can be others.
The Contestability Period
An important thing to keep in mind if your life insurance claim has been denied due to misrepresentation or fraud is the “contestability period”. The contestability period is usually the first two years of life insurance coverage. If an insured dies during this time and insurance company can deny coverage of benefits if they show that there was a material misrepresentation on the behalf of the insured. The misrepresentation does not need to have been made on purpose and could have been an innocent mistake, but if the claim is made during the contestability period, then that is all an insurance company needs to deny the claim.
However, if a claim for life insurance benefits occurs after the contestability period is over, then a misrepresentation will not be enough for an insurance company to deny paying out benefits under a life insurance policy. The insurance company will have to prove that the insured committed fraud against the insurance company to be able to deny paying out benefits under a life insurance policy. This is a much higher bar for an insurance company to meet and any denial for life insurance benefits made after the contestability period needs to be looked at closely by an insurance denial expert.
Has Your Life Insurance Claim Been Denied?
Your legitimate life insurance claim can be denied for many reasons, mostly surrounding technical language and restrictions in the policy. If your life insurance claim has been denied, having an experienced team of life insurance denial lawyers on your side can help alleviate the burden of navigating a convoluted world of insurance denial on your own. The lawyers at Taylor & Blair LLP have a network of medical specialists and underwriting experts who help us prove our clients’ cases and make the insurance companies pay them the insurance benefits our clients are owed.
Our professional and compassionate team will be mindful of your grief and work as quickly and efficiently as possible to ensure your insurance denial is revisited and reversed. We will deal with the insurance company, so you don’t have to and fight for your right to compensation.
Life Insurance Denial Claims & Timelines
If your life insurance claim has been denied, it’s important to act fast. There are strict limitation periods in which you have to start a lawsuit, or you lose the right to sue, which means you may miss out on your chance to take legal action if you don’t act fast enough.
Most life insurance claims have a period of two years in which you have to sue over the denied life insurance benefits, however this can change depending on the terms of your life insurance policy. Contact Taylor & Blair LLP so we can review your policy denial. Just because you’ve been denied, doesn’t mean that’s the end of the story.