Life insurance exists to protect your loved ones after you pass away. If anyone in your family relies on you for financial help and protection, you will need a way to provide for them after you pass away, or in the event that you pass away suddenly. For example, parents of young children should file life insurance policies to ensure that their children can receive funds if they were to pass away, especially in a sudden or unexpected way,

Life insurance benefits should be paid after the insured has passed away and, of course, after the proposed beneficiary has properly filed a claim with the life insurance company. The beneficiary will then need to submit a copy of the death certificate to their insurance company, as well as any other supporting documentation that provides insight into the deceased’s passing.

Generally speaking, the faster you submit the correct paperwork, the laws that govern your claim and the insurance company’s processing time are all factors that will tie into how long it takes to process your life insurance claim and receive your check. In most cases life insurance companies are required to pay out claims within thirty to sixty days after they receive the documentation from you. So, the faster you provide them with information, the faster they should be able to provide you with your payout.

All life insurance companies are required to operate in good faith, meaning they owe you a duty of care and are legally required to not delay in paying out claims for no reason at all. Contact a California life insurance lawyer if you need help navigating your life insurance policy, or you feel that your claim is taking too long to process and pay out.

Why Is It Taking So Long To Receive My Life Insurance Money?

First, as mentioned earlier, the faster you submit important documentation, the faster you will likely receive your claim. But if you promptly submitted your information and it’s still taking awhile, there are other factors that could be to blame.

Some life insurance policies have a two-year contestability clause laid out in the contract. If the death in question happened within the first two years of the policy being filed, the life insurance company withholds the right to fully investigate the claim, in order to ensure that no mistakes or misrepresentations were made on the application for life insurance. The life insurance company also has the right to review the original application and the insured’s medical records to determine whether the insured provided false or incomplete information. If the insured person did not provide material information on the application, the company might delay or deny paying the claim based on material misrepresentation. Investigating such claims may take up to a year or even longer.

However, it’s important to remember that if you have held the life insurance policy for longer than two years, it’s quite likely that the life insurance company will opt to not investigate your claim, unless there are questionable or suspicious circumstances regarding the person’s death.

Sometimes, life insurance companies simply have a backlog. If they are short staffed or under staffed, or have a busier schedule than normal, this could impact how long it takes to process your claim. There are a multitude of reasons why processing your life insurance claim could be delayed. This is one of the many reasons it is crucial to work with a lawyer who understands your side of the story, and has extensive experience working with people in situations just like yours. It can seem hard, even impossible to stand up to insurance companies, but with the help of a California life insurance lawyer, it is possible.

Schedule A Free Consultation With A California Life Insurance Lawyer Today

All life insurance companies are required to operate in good faith. This means, they owe you a duty of care and are required by state and federal law to process claims and pay them out as promptly as possible. But, unfortunately, we know by now this isn’t always the case. At McKennon Law Group PC, we offer a free consultation for any life insurance beneficiary who is experiencing a delayed claim or is unsure when their life insurance money will be processed and paid out.

Schedule a free, no obligation consultation with a California life insurance lawyer as soon as possible. Our team of attorneys will help you fight back against big insurance companies, stand up for yourself and your loved ones, and get the money you deserve from your claim. Our team is here to help.