Life Insurance Claims in Oregon
You deserve some time to grieve after losing a loved one. You should not be more worried about dealing with a denied life insurance claim. Yet countless people across the country have to deal with stubborn insurance providers who will do anything they can to deny a life insurance benefits payout.
Our Portland Lawyer for Life Insurance
At Kantor & Kantor, LLP, we think the way that some insurance companies treat their own policyholders is inexcusable. That’s why we have dedicated our firm to managing denied insurance claims for the good people of Wilsonville. Life insurance claims can be complicated but not for our highly experienced team.
Trust your case to us. Request an initial consultation today or give us a call at 818-886-2525.
Reasons Why Life Insurance Claims Are Denied
You might not expect an insurance company to deny a life insurance claim filed after you lose a loved one. You might reasonably think that a death certificate should be proof enough of their passing and the validity of their claim. However, you can never underestimate just how far some insurers will go to try to deny claims and save their own profit margins.
Here are a few reasons why your life insurance claim might be denied:
- Beneficiaries are not named in the policy
- Death was ruled as a suicide that invalidates the policy
- Death caused by an illness not included in the policy, like certain cancers
- Missing monthly premiums caused a gap in coverage
The underlying problem is not so much that your claim was denied but that it might have been denied wrongfully. If your claim was valid and should have provided approved benefits but it was not, then you will need to challenge and appeal the denial as soon as you can. Let our Portland lawyers help you through a denied life insurance claim. We can help you through this intricate legal process.
There is also an issue of unreasonably restrictive life insurance policies. Your loved one’s death might not be covered under your policy but would have been under similar policies sold by other companies. For example, an exclusion clause that does not cover deaths caused by car accidents could be argued as unnecessarily one-sided, warranting a challenge from an insurance attorney. Our lawyer for life insurance can help you challenge denied life insurance claims.
Understanding Incontestability Clauses
Life insurance policies sold in Oregon usually have an incontestability clause written into them to protect the policyholder and their families from unreasonable denials later. Most incontestability clauses state that the insurance company has two years after selling the life insurance policy to investigate any suspected discrepancies on the application and revoke the policy if any are found. If two years pass and the policy is still active, then the insurance should not have legal grounds to contest a claim, even if fraudulent activities occur.
What to Do About Life Insurance Application Mistakes
Another common reason for a life insurance denial is a mistake on the application. Life insurance companies are under no obligation to accept an application if there is an error on it, even a small mistake. They can also attempt to deny or revoke the life insurance coverage if the mistake is found after the application has been accepted but before a “grace period” has ended.
If you know that you made a mistake on your life insurance application, then you should plan on talking with the insurance company as soon as possible. You do not want to be accused of insurance fraud if the mistake is caught by them. Most insurers will let you amend the policy without needing to reapply.
Beware Life Insurance Lapses
Your policy will “lapse” when you lose coverage for any reason. Typically, a life insurance lapse happens when the policy ends due to a missing premium. You should contact your life insurance provider immediately to talk about how to rectify the situation because the policy is effectively useless when it has lapsed and gone inactive. The insurance company does not need to pay out for a lapsed policy, and it owes the policyholder’s family no refunds for previously paid premiums.
Life Insurance FAQ
When two or more people submit a life insurance claim to the same company and for the same reason, they unknowingly create competing claims. For example, two siblings each file a claim after one of their parents passes away. Insurance companies will usually refuse to pay either claim until the situation is corrected and one of the filings is canceled.
Minors usually cannot gain any benefits or finances through a life insurance claim. If they are the only beneficiary, then the situation will get intricate, and a court process might become necessary to determine what to do with those benefits. One solution might be to place the benefits into a trust that the minor cannot access until they reach legal adulthood.
The cost of legal assistance for a life insurance claim will vary depending on the complications of the case. The more work that needs to go into a case, the more an attorney will usually charge. Our commitment to you as your life insurance attorneys will be to offer you a fair price for our legal services. You will never be blindsided by surprise fees. When you accept our legal services, you will know how much they will cost.
Attorney Glenn R. Kantor
Glenn Kantor is a founding partner of Kantor & Kantor LLP. As a young attorney, Glenn saw the injustice of wrongful insurance denials and created a law firm to represent individuals seeking to obtain their rightful benefits. Glenn is committed to ensure that clients receive the benefits they are entitled to under their insurance policies or group health plans. [Attorney Bio]
