It is not unusual that life insurance companies, after the death of the policy holder, deny the claim to the beneficiaries. The excuses vary widely but the most common are the following:
- Misrepresentation on the life insurance application. The insurance will claim that because the policy holder forgot to disclose an irrelevant, inconsequential visit to a doctor, that he/she “misrepresented” at the moment he applied for the policy and therefore, the policy is void and unenforceable. They will claim this even if the “misrepresented” event has nothing to do with the cause of death.
- Failure to disclose medical history on the application. Just like the misrepresentation argument, the insurance will look for any mismatch between your medical history and what was actually disclosed, to avoid paying on the policy.
- Disputes over who is the beneficiary. This occurs when the deceased person changed a beneficiary form prior to dying, and there’s a dispute as to whether the beneficiary change was valid.
Finally, it is important to know that when the triggering event (the death) occurs within two years of issuance of the policy, the insurance company will usually try to find one of the excuses above to not pay the policy. However, after 2-years, Florida Statutes 627.455 states that every life insurance policy contract is incontestable. There are some exceptions to the “incontestability”, like non-payment of premiums, but generally, you are in a much better position if the policy is triggered after 2-years.
For more information about life insurance policy claims, contact a life insurance attorney in Miami at eduardo@ayalalawpa.com or call 305-570-2208.
You can also schedule a case evaluation online at https://www.lawayala.com/
