Life Insurance Lawyer Washington
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What are some ways an ex-spouse has won a denied life insurance claim?
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Provide evidence that the policyholder intended to change the beneficiary: If the policyholder intended to change the beneficiary but failed to do so before their death, it may be possible to contest the denial.
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Show evidence that the divorce decree addressed life insurance: If the divorce decree addressed life insurance or the beneficiary designation, it may be possible to argue that the ex-spouse is still entitled to the death benefit.
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Argue that the divorce decree was unclear or ambiguous: If the language of the divorce decree regarding life insurance or the beneficiary designation was unclear or open to interpretation, it may be possible to contest the denial.
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Provide evidence that the policyholder intended to provide for the ex-spouse: If the policyholder intended to provide for the ex-spouse even after the divorce, it may be possible to contest the denial.
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Show evidence of a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement: If there was a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement that addressed life insurance or the beneficiary designation, it may be possible to contest the denial based on the terms of the agreement.
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Argue that the ex-spouse was still a dependent: If the ex-spouse was still financially dependent on the policyholder at the time of their death, it may be possible to contest the denial.
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Show evidence that the policyholder was coerced into changing the beneficiary: If the policyholder was coerced or misled into changing the beneficiary to their ex-spouse, it may be possible to contest the denial.
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Argue that the policyholder was not of sound mind: If the policyholder was not of sound mind at the time of changing the beneficiary, it may be possible to contest the denial.
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Argue that the policyholder believed the ex-spouse was still the beneficiary: If the policyholder believed that the ex-spouse was still the beneficiary of the policy, it may be possible to contest the denial based on their mistaken belief.
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Provide evidence of a subsequent change to the beneficiary: If the policyholder changed the beneficiary after the divorce but before their death, it may be possible to contest the denial based on the subsequent change.
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Life Insurance Beneficiary Rules and Disputes Washington
2023-2024 Life Insurance Claims in Washington Recently Settled
- Genworth COVID-19 death denial $138,000.00
- Athene lapsed the policy of client $52,000.00
- Principal Life coronavirus death $105,000.00
- American United sickness exclusion $61,000.00
- Great West lapsed the policy resolved $109,000.00
- Accidental Death & Dismemberment won $839,000.00
- TIAA felony exclusion resolved $303,000.00
- AD&D claim rejected high BAC $910,000.00
- Denial of SGLI claim beneficiaries $407,540.00
- Ethos suicide self-inflicted injury $11,000.00
- Wilton smoking in medical records $85,000.00
- Country Financial material misrepresentation $10,000.00
- iA Financial wrong age listed on application $35,000.00
- Chubb Life interpleader lawsuit resolved $94,000.00
- Kemper Life missed three payments won $73,000.00
- Columbian Mutual self-inflicted injury issue $80,000.00
- OneAmerica lapse automatic bank deduction $12,000.00
- AARP tried to terminate policy after death $101,300.00
- Mass shooting Washington life claim denied $142,000.00
- Liberty Mutual interpleader case $513,000.00
- West Coast alcohol exclusion claim $227,000.00
- Prudential AD&D accidental death $348,000.00
- ERISA appeal after great legal brief $190,000.00
- Washington denied life insurance claim $3,067,750.00
- SGLI dispute wife and ex-wife $400,000.00
- Security Mutual beneficiary dispute $305,000.00
- Gerber failure to accept policy premiums $170,000.00
- Denied life insurance claim Washington $1,240,000.00
- Prudential material misrepresentation application $330,000.00
- FEGLI appeal of life benefits won $149,000.00
- Washington bad faith life insurance $821,000.00
- AIG accidental death claim won $514,000.00
- Stonebridge contestability period medical records $130,000.00
- Washington divorce and life insurance $757,000.00
- Transamerica autoerotic asphyxiation death $426,000.00
Interpleader Lawyer Washington
Washington Life Insurance Law
Our firm specializes in helping people who have had life insurance claims wrongfully denied by insurance companies. Over the years, we’ve seen so many bogus denials from life insurers that we’ve grown suspicious of the majority of claim denial justifications that come across our desks. It is our greatest pleasure to help our clients contest and overcome those denials.
That said, as attorneys who focus almost exclusively on life insurance issues, we believe we can also assist people in making sure they take all the steps necessary to get and maintain valid policies that will pay beneficiaries as planned when the policyholder passes away. One of the ways we can do that is to educate consumers about the things they should always be honest about when applying for a life insurance policy.
We understand that at some level, some people are tempted to tell little white lies in their life insurance application. What we need to share with you, however, is that some of those mistruths can have major legal implications regarding the validity of your policy. That is because of a legal concept called “material misrepresentations.”
Basically, the law requires that the parties to a contract tell each other the truth about the subject of the contract during negotiations. In the life insurance context that means, among other things, that the policy applicant has to reveal to the insurance company any conditions that might cause the company to deny coverage or charge greater premiums. The failure to do so can be deemed a “material misrepresentation.” In the law, material misrepresentations are serious enough to relieve the party who was lied to of any obligations under the contract. For a life insurance company, that means they can use material misrepresentations to deny claims.
This article explores some of the more common things people lie about in life insurance applications that end up giving the insurance company an excuse to deny later claims. While each case is different and each one of these lies can be told with varying levels of consequences, the best strategy for any life insurance applicant is to simply tell the truth about these issues.
Major diseases and life insurance claims
It should come as no surprise that life insurance companies want to know about an applicant’s disease history before they issue a policy or set a premium amount. The unfortunate truth is that a history of diseases like cancer, diabetes, heart disease, or lung disease can make a person more likely to die at a younger age than his/her peers. Of course, life insurance companies make the most amount of money from policyholders who live a long life and pay premiums faithfully over the course of several years or decades.
Consequently, an applicant’s disease history is one of the most important things to the insurer. When an applicant fails to reveal a significant disease, obtains a policy based on that omission, and later dies of a cause related to that condition, the insurance company almost always seeks to avoid making a policy payout based on a material misrepresentation.
What many people do not know, however, is that the insurance company may be able to avoid its policy obligations even if the insured dies of a condition completely unrelated to the one he failed to reveal in his policy application. The insurer will argue that had it known the full truth about the applicant’s health, it never would have issued a policy in the first place and thus never would have had to make a policy payout at all. Depending on the significance of the underlying condition, this argument can be quite persuasive to courts.
Smoking and life insurance claims
At this point in time, smoking is one of those habits that has an undeniable negative impact on a person’s health. People who smoke are more likely to contract lung cancer, lung disease, heart disease, asthma, and other serious conditions than those who don’t. Thus, life insurance companies take this inquiry very seriously.
If a person denies smoking in their application, is issued a policy, then dies of a smoking-related illness, the life insurer will often undertake an intense investigation into the person’s true history. They’ll even go so far as to scour a person’s social media history to look for pictures or other indications that the policyholder smoked. If they can find that evidence, you better believe they’ll deny any claim against that policy.
Dangerous hobbies and life insurance claims
Another serious inquiry for life insurance companies has to do with the applicant’s hobbies. Certain activities, such as skydiving, SCUBA diving, motorcycle racing, or rock climbing, can be deemed so dangerous that the insurance company won’t issue a policy to regular participants. Knowing this, many thrill-seekers are tempted to lie in their policy applications or simple fail to disclose that they do one or more of these sports on a regular basis.
To the insurance company, that mistruth is no less material than the failure to reveal a physical disease or a history of smoking. Indeed, they frequently deny claims based on alleged material misrepresentations about these activities.
Denials made on this basis have a little more wiggle room when it comes to contesting the claim denial, however. For example, what if the policyholder never took up the dangerous sport until years after his policy was in place? What if he died the very first time he tried one of these activities? In those instances, there may still be room for the beneficiary to collect the benefit the policyholder intended.
Life Insurance Contestability Period Washington
Ultimately, if you have had a life insurance claim denied on any basis, you would do yourself a big favor if you simply called our firm to talk it over. The initial consultation is free and we’ll only encourage you to pursue the claim if we believe the denial was truly in error. We also won’t charge you a dime unless and until you get monetary recovery from the insurance company. The truth is, many claim denials are erroneous. Call us today. We’re here to help.