Our top life insurance lawyers recently resolved a $1.1 million dollar life insurance claim. The idea behind having a life insurance policy is to have a stress-free way of helping your loved ones cover the expenses of your death. However, sometimes life insurance claims get denied. If this happens, it’s important to know what you can do about it.
Why Insurance Claims Get Denied
There are many reasons why your life insurance claim can be denied. You will typically receive a letter about why your claim was denied, but sometimes denials are done over the phone. If you’re verbally told you can’t make a claim, you have the right to receive a written denial.
Some common reasons that claims can be denied include:
- The policy lapsed, leaving no coverage
- The death was determined not to be an accidental death or not covered under the policy
- The person making the claim isn’t allowed to due to relationship status (such as an ex-spouse)
- You lost your life insurance coverage when you left your company
How to Handle a Life Insurance Claim Denial
It’s common for people to simply admit defeat when they receive a denial of a claim. However, there are many ways you can approach a denial and fight to get the claim paid out.
Contact the Company
If you received a denial letter, but it doesn’t lay out the details of the denial, you should contact the company to get more information. Many insurance companies will send out blanket denial letters in hopes that you’ll simply drop the claim and move on.
When you call, ask for the exact reasons they denied the claim. While discussing this, you should also ask them what their appeals process looks like. Depending on your policy, you may be able to process an appeal by giving the company additional information for them to review.
Sometimes, the company will use a clause or law to back up their denial decision. If this is the case and they don’t offer you an appeals process, consider discussing the situation with a life insurance lawyer.
Contacting a Lawyer
If you want to know about the possibility of a legal case concerning the claim denial, you need to talk to a lawyer that has experience working with life insurance claim denials. They will be able to tell you whether the denial is legal and, if not, how to proceed with your dispute.
Working with a life insurance lawyer will allow you to determine whether you should choose to move forward with an appeal, contest, or lawsuit to get the funds the insurance company owes you.
There are many reasons your life insurance company can deny your claim, which is why discussing your options with an experienced lawyer is your best option. The dispute process can be an extensive one, including extra paperwork, court documents and visits, and other investigation necessities. This can be too much for you to handle on your own, so having a lawyer on your side can help!
Takeaway
Getting a life insurance claim denied can be frustrating. However, you don’t want to let it stop you from getting the money you deserve. Find out your options and appeal your denial to get the outcome you deserve!