Life Insurance Lawyer South Dakota

Our South Dakota life insurance lawyers are here to help.

What are some reasons for a life insurance claim to be denied due to cancer?
Here are ten possible reasons why a life insurance claim may be denied due to cancer:

  1. Non-Disclosure: If the policyholder did not disclose their cancer diagnosis during the application process, the life insurance company may deny the claim.

  2. Material Misrepresentation: If the policyholder made a material misrepresentation during the application process, such as stating that they did not have cancer when they did, the life insurance company may deny the claim.

  3. Exclusionary Language: If the life insurance policy includes specific language that excludes coverage for cancer, the life insurance company may deny the claim.

  4. Late Payment: If the policyholder did not pay their premiums on time, the life insurance policy may have lapsed, and the claim may be denied.

  5. Suicide: If the policyholder committed suicide as a result of their cancer diagnosis, the life insurance company may deny the claim.

  6. Waiting Period: If the policyholder died within the waiting period specified in the policy, the life insurance company may deny the claim.

  7. Experimental Treatment: If the policyholder underwent an experimental treatment that was not approved by the life insurance company, the claim may be denied.

  8. Policy Expiration: If the policy has expired before the policyholder's death, the claim may be denied.

  9. Accidental Death: If the policyholder died as a result of an accident unrelated to their cancer diagnosis, the life insurance company may deny the claim.

  10. Policy Limitations: If the policy has limitations on the amount that will be paid out for certain types of deaths, such as death due to cancer, the life insurance company may not pay the full amount of the claim.

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Life Insurance Beneficiary Rules and Disputes South Dakota

2023-2024 Life Insurance Claims in South Dakota Recently Settled

  • Mutual of Omaha coronavirus death denied $502,100.00
  • Bankers Conseco Life sickness exclusion $14,000.00
  • American Income Life COVID-19 death denial $303,000.00
  • Denial of SGLI claim girlfriend contested $67,000.00
  • Kotak Life material misrepresentation age $20,000.00
  • Burial Life Policy long lapse due to nonpayment $10,000.00
  • Landmark Life misrepresentation on application $53,000.00
  • Mass shooting South Dakota claim $408,740.00
  • Legacy Life felony exclusion stabbing crime $32,000.00
  • KY Life contestable period problem fixed $77,000.00
  • Zurich American oxycontin denial won $209,000.00
  • MCU Life self-inflicted injury hanging $88,000.00
  • GA Life chronic illness exclusion won $25,000.00
  • Franklin Life delay with medical records $11,000.00
  • Gerber interpleader lawsuit plaintiff $302,500.00
  • The Hartford undue influence situation $100,000.00
  • South suicide self-inflicted injury $118,000.00
  • Nationwide beneficiary change issue $308,000.00
  • ERISA appeal employee success here $113,000.00
  • South Dakota denied life insurance claim $2,485,000.00
  • FEGLI appeal best brief submitted $153,000.00
  • Globe competing claimants dispute $117,000.00
  • Denied life insurance claim South Dakota $1,032,000.00
  • AIG material misrepresentation application $415,000.00
  • Lincoln Heritage drunk driving alcohol exclusion $109,000.00
  • South Dakota divorce and life insurance $625,000.00
  • Citizens autoerotic asphyxiation death $278,000.00
  • South Dakota bad faith life insurance $810,000.00

Interpleader Lawyer South Dakota

South Dakota Life Insurance Law

It is a rare occasion when a person is excited to be making a claim against a life insurance policy. It certainly means that someone, the policyholder, has passed away. Typically, that means that the beneficiary has lost someone they cared about deeply. It may also mean that the beneficiary is facing financial insecurity without the policy payout.

Oftentimes, that financial insecurity is dire and immediate. Consequently, the faster the life insurance company pays out the death benefit, the sooner the policy beneficiary can breathe easy and start focusing on overcoming their grief.

Unfortunately, however, life insurance companies are not highly motivated to pay out claims quickly, or to pay them out at all. Indeed, if they can avoid paying claims all together, it means that every dollar the policyholder paid to the insurer in premiums was pure profit. And to the extent life insurers can significantly delay payment of claims, then they can continue to make that unpaid claim money earn them additional dollars through investments.

In light of this financial incentive to delay and deny claims, life insurance companies have manufactured a host of tricks and loopholes that allow them to avoid the obligations they owe to policyholders and beneficiaries alike.

This article explores some of the more common delay tactics used by life insurance companies. It also discusses when beneficiaries facing such delays should consider contacting an attorney who specializes in life insurance claim denials.

The endless life insurance investigation

When a life insurance policy beneficiary submits a claim to the insurance company, he typically expects to be paid within a month or two. In fact, most policies and/or relevant state laws require that valid claims be paid within a relatively short period of time. The insurance companies know this, of course, but it doesn’t stop them from engaging in hardball delay tactics.

For example, in response to claim submissions, some insurance companies almost immediately send out a response letter saying that the claim is “under investigation,” “under review,” or “subject to internal inquiry.” While the insurance company is supposed to provide more detail about exactly what is being investigated, they don’t always do that.

Instead, they begin what seems like an endless game of cat and mouse with the beneficiary. Each time the beneficiary contacts the insurance company for information about the status of their claim, they are told that the claim is still under review. Rarely, if ever, can the beneficiary even reach a real person on the phone to deal with their questions.

In some cases, the life insurer is simply testing the resolve of the beneficiary. If they can continue to stall payment for month after month after month, they may be able to get the beneficiary to tire of the process and simply stop asking. Once that happens, the insurance company knows the beneficiary is unlikely to be surprised (or aggressively indignant) when a denial letter ultimately ends up in their mailbox.

This is precisely why it is so important for any beneficiary facing one of these internal investigations to contact an attorney specializing in the denial of life insurance claims as soon as they start getting letters or other communications about the process. As professionals who successfully take on life insurance companies every single day, we know when their investigation processes are legitimate, and when they are simply bogus justifications for creating delays in payment.

The good news is, we’ll take over the fight for you. No longer will you have to make phone call after phone call to endless voice message systems. We’ll contact the insurance company on your behalf and, should they choose to ignore us, we’ll simply remind them of your right to sue the company in a court of law. That typically results in a responsive communications, more information about the status of the claim, and ultimately, quick payouts on valid claims.

Examination Under Oath (EUO) and Life Insurance Claim

Another tactic that life insurance companies like to deploy is the request for an “Examination Under Oath” (EUO). Like the name implies, an EUO is a process whereby the insurance company asks the policy beneficiary or others with information about the policyholder to attend a formal, sworn examination. The entire process can be very intimidating because it can make the beneficiary believe they may have done something wrong.

Insurance companies know this and they also know that that level of intimidation will ultimately scare off a good percentage of beneficiaries from pursuing their claim. Indeed, if the insurance company can keep a beneficiary dragging their feet about setting up the formal EUO, they will eventually just send a claim denial letter in the mail. Relieved from the obligation to provide sworn testimony in a formal proceeding, many beneficiaries will never contest that denial letter.

That is a shame because in most cases, the beneficiary has done absolutely nothing wrong and has nothing to fear from the EUO process. Indeed, many times, the beneficiary knows absolutely nothing about the policyholder’s relationship with the insurance company and would be unable to provide useful information in any event.

Consequently, it is very important for a life insurance policy beneficiary to contact an attorney specializing in life insurance claim denials when they first receive a request for a EUO. Not only will we prepare you for the process, but we will attend the inquiry with you and will protect you from improper questioning by the insurance company’s attorneys. And, perhaps most importantly, we will fight the insurance company tooth and nail if they are simply using the process to avoid paying out a valid claim.

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If you or someone you love is facing the denial of a life insurance claim or needless delays by the insurance company in paying your claim, please don’t hesitate to contact our firm. We’ll provide a free consultation and give you our professional assessment about your chances at contesting the claim denial. We’re here to help you. Feel free to contact us today.