Life Insurance Claim Articles
Life Insurance Claim Articles
Life Insurance Claim Denied, Application Misrepresentation
By Jeffrey L. Greyber, Esq.
I have noticed arising issues in the life insurance arena as of late, and I would like to offer some practical tips to you, the policyholder. There are many unfortunate circumstances that can emanate when it comes to the life insurance field. For instance, if you are in the deplorable position of a loved one, with a life insurance policy, passing away. I have seen many times, the insurance company deny the claim because it dictates on the application that there are misrepresentations in the life insurance policy application.
Although this policy was potentially submitted years ago, because of those misrepresentations, the insurance company would have supposedly never issued the life insurance policy in the first place. And because the insurance company would have never issued the policy, “had it known the opposite of the misrepresentation”, they might possibly refund you partial premiums, and consider your policy void from the outside, sometimes referred to as "void ab initio".
The tip to you, the policyholder, is that before an unfortunate death occurs, you need to review your life insurance policy to ensure that there are no missing pieces of information or any misrepresentations. If there are ever any changes to be made, your insurance company needs to be aware, to cover you. There are also some incontestability provisions on life insurance policies, so that is to be looked into carefully as well.
If you do this, and later on down the road your insurance company still tries to deny your life insurance policy application due to misrepresentation, there are several avenues an attorney like me could take to get around that application misrepresentation denial. We can get into whether or not there was in fact misrepresentation. We could delve into the issue of whether or not that supposed misrepresentation is material to the insurance company’s underwriting and issuing of the policy in the first place, and more. But now is the time, before a death occurs, to thoroughly and comprehensively read through your life insurance policy.
Just How Material Are Your Life Insurance Application Representations?
By Jeffrey L. Greyber, Esq.
As discussed in other articles featured on this website, one of the first things a life insurance company will turn to when deciding whether to pay a claim is the life insurance policy application. Why? Because there are very few ways (when compared to other types of insurance claims) for a life insurance company to try to deny a claim and voiding the policy ab initio (i.e., rescinding the policy as if it never existed) due to supposed misrepresentations on the life insurance policy application is one such way.
Life Insurance Claim Articles
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