Life insurance policies are a smart way of financially protecting your loved ones in the future. If anyone in your family relies on your income and financial support, and will experience hardship if this financial support no longer exists, life insurance will pay out a sum of money to these dependents once you’ve passed away. The insurer should pay out the full amount in the policy after the insured dies. But, sadly, this isn’t always the case.
Big life insurance companies have a bottom line, and are always trying to save money. Sometimes, these big life insurance companies will deny reasonable claims for simply no reason at all. When this happens, beneficiaries of the deceased may experience serious financial hardship without the life insurance money that was intended to protect them.
Read on to learn what you can do if your life insurance claim was denied by the insurance company. We’ll break down what you can do and, if you have any questions about life insurance policies or about filing an appeal for a denied claim, contact us for a free consultation regarding your situation.
How Do I Know My Life Insurance Claim Was Denied?
You will be contacted by the life insurance company in order to tell you that your life insurance claim has been denied. The insurance company sends the proposed beneficiary a formal letter by mail, which will break down the reasons why the life insurance claim was denied. In the letter, the insurance company will typically take this time to quote specific standards and provisions from the policy that apply to your specific case, listing documents that they reviewed and evidence they leveraged in order to make the decision to deny your claim.
In some random cases, a beneficiary’s claim may be denied via a phone call. If you have had your life insurance claim denied in a phone call, you have every right to contact your life insurance company and request a formal denial letter in writing. It will be helpful to have this document on hand. A denial letter not only outlines important information that is required to fight back against the denied claim, but it also demonstrates exactly what day the life insurance company decided to deny your claim, and helps you outline a timeline for appealing the claim or deciding to file a lawsuit.
The denial letter that a beneficiary receives from the insurance company will be a crucial part of the appeal procedure, so be sure to have a physical copy for your records. With this information, a skilled California life insurance lawyer can outline a procedure for filing an appeal.
Why Did My Life Insurance Claim Get Denied In California?
There are a multitude of reasons why a life insurance claim can get denied in California. The following is a list of just a few examples, as there are many more reasons:
- Policy was canceled or the life insurance lapsed because of a missed payment
- Failure to reinstate the policy after a lapse or missed payment
- Failure to provide correct or accurate information on life insurance application
- The deceased passed away due to alcohol or drug use, including prescription drug misuse
- The deceased passed away due to a sickness or treatment that is excluded from the policy
- Failure to disclose a pre-existing medical condition
- Failure to disclose frequency of medical check ups
- Misrepresentation of the deceased’s weight, age or income
- Denial under the two-year life insurance contestability clause
- The deceased passed away via suicide
- The deceased passed away in a foreign country
- And much more
When filing for any kind of insurance, always be sure that you consult with a lawyer in order to know what you’re signing up for, and what is required of you to ensure you receive the full scope of benefits that you are requesting.
How Does A Lawyer Help Me File An Appeal For A Denied Life Insurance Claim?
First, your lawyer will help you contact the insurance company to find out why exactly the claim was denied. Sometimes, denial letters are hard to decipher, so we will help you figure out exactly what you need to do to proceed. Your insurance company will let you know if your policy allows you to file an appeal, and will let you know which documentation you need to do so. This may include medical records, reports of an autopsy, or receipts of your insurance payment. Your lawyer can help you collect all of this.
Our attorneys handle denied life insurance claims all the time. We will take the time to listen to your fears and concerns and, in a free consultation, will provide you with all of the resources you need to get help. To successfully file an administrative appeal for a denied life insurance claim, your California life insurance attorney will create and present a strong convincing argument that is based upon the facts of the case, which will be supported by the state and federal laws that govern it.
