AD&D claims are life insurance claims that you would assume to be very straight forward. With the acronym standing for Accidental Death & Dismemberment, it would seem that the insurance company would understand that the death is accidental if accounted for by records and all. Instead, what many find is an insurance legal battle so thick, it makes people want to give up.
This is due in part to the amount of exclusions and regulations that are put into AD&D policies, which can severely limit the amount of coverage a policy holder can receive. This also, unfortunately, is unknown to many of the policy holders themselves unless they actually read through the contract thoroughly, which can result in expensive oversights, as well as headaches for the beneficiaries as well. One such exclusion that can bring up a denial without being in the crosshairs of the beneficiaries or the insured is drug usage.
What Constitutes Drug Usage?
With AD&D cases, it is generally given that the incident must have been accidental. This can be anything from an unfortunate car accident, to a pedestrian run-in gone bad. In both of these situations, the cause of death can generally be called an accident.
But, there can be denials if there is any sign of possible drug intake. This can include any type of drug, from cocaine and heroin, to smaller and possibly legally murky drugs such as marijuana. If any of these are found to be within the blood, or in the tox reports later on, many insurance companies will take that as an easy opportunity to say that it was intentional usage of the drugs. Thus, it would be a valid denial reason.
How do I Challenge a Drug Usage Denial?
Even though it seems that any drugs being in the system can be grounds for a denial, it does not mean that an appeal cannot be made. This is because there are many contributing and dominating factors when it comes to fully determining if there has been a valid drug usage exclusion. These can include, but are not limited to:
- Accident Reports
- Toxicology report
- RN or Physician’s Report
These are just a few of the things that are needed when attempting to appeal against Drug usage Denials.
After you receive those reports, it is best to get an experienced AD&D life insurance attorney to help you throughout the entire process. With an experienced attorney, they can help to solidify your case, and make sure that you have a valid case to make during the appeal process. Not only that, they can also help to ensure that no loopholes and potholes in the legal jargon will be taken advantage of by the insurance company. Insurance companies will use any means necessary to make sure that their denial is approved. To them, it is just one more payment that they can keep for themselves. You want to make sure you have the best life insurance attorneys that will not look at you like another paycheck, but as a human being that is wanting to get back to their own daily lives.