Recently, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit seeking to recover $3.5 million from a life insurance benefit denial in the name of an attorney who committed suicide. While both sides acknowledged the validity of the suicide exclusion, the widower of the deceased lawyer raised a question of fact as to whether his wife possessed the intent to commit suicide. He presented evidence her medically induced mental state made her unable to form the intent to take her own life.
When you are struggling to deal with the death of a loved one, one of the last things you want to do is fight with the life insurance company over a life insurance benefit. Typically, life insurance carriers do pay out on valid claims on their policies, but thousands of claims are disputed or denied each year. The amount of money withheld can reach up to several hundred million dollars or more.
Life Insurance Exclusions
Incorporating exclusion clauses into life insurance policies is one method insurance companies use to reduce their risks of having to pay out large sums of money. Some of the most common life insurance policy exclusions are:
- Act of war
- Aviation (private aircraft crash)
- Alcohol and drug use
- Dangerous activity
- Illegal activity
- Material misrepresentation
- Misstatement of age
- Suicide
- The contestable period
When an insurance carrier denies issues a life insurance benefit denial for a reason other than a valid policy exclusion, it can represent insurance bad faith and entitle you to additional damages beyond the stated life insurance benefit. Life insurance companies have a legal duty to provide benefits to named beneficiaries timely and in accordance with the law. When insurers refuse, their decisions can often be successfully challenged, forcing the insurer to pay not only the amount of the benefit due but additional damages, including penalties, interest and attorney’s fees.
Life Insurance Benefit Denial Lawyers
Our team of life insurance lawyers will fight your life insurance company from giving you the runaround. Our insurance lawyers are exclusively dedicated to helping clients get the insurance benefits they are owed. If an insurance company has wrongfully denied payment of a death benefit claim on your loved one’s life insurance policy, they are acting in bad faith. Please contact a life insurance benefit denial attorney at Raizner Law today for a free initial consultation and case evaluation.