People buy life insurance to provide financial security and peace of mind for their family and loved ones in the event of an unforeseen death. It is difficult enough to deal with the death of a loved one without at the same time also attempting to fight an insurance company denial of the beneficiary’s life insurance claim. Business owners also purchase life insurance to enable the surviving business owners to adequately and fairly address the surviving spouse or family members’ ownership interest in the business in order to enable the business to transition and continue its operations in the future. Contact the Dallas & Houston life insurance claims attorneys of Grisham & Kendall, PLLC today at (214) 361-6124 to schedule a free consultation.
The following are examples of reasons given by insurance companies for denial of life insurance claims:
These are just a few examples. If you believe your claim for benefits under a life insurance policy have been wrongly delayed or denied, you may be entitled to recover benefits owed under the policy, attorneys’ fees, and additional damages if the insurance company is found to have denied your insurance claim in bad faith.
If you are filing a life insurance claim then you are likely overwhelmed with grief in addition to your frustrations with the life insurance process. To help alleviate some of this stress, we have provided the answers to some of the common questions we hear at our office below.
The process of collecting life insurance can be complicated and frustrating. When the beneficiary of a plan is struggling financially, the stress of not being able to collect life insurance is particularly taxing. After the plan beneficiary files a claim, the insurance company will conduct a brief investigation. If the insurer finds everything to be compliant with the terms of the life insurance plan, they will make the money available to the family. The length of the process can vary but commonly takes about 30 to 60 days after the family files a claim with the insurance company.
If you are in the process of filing a claim, or if you have already filed and are waiting on payment, an experienced attorney can evaluate your situation and help you understand what your specific timeline should look like. If you have been waiting for an extended period of time for the insurance company to release your loved one’s life insurance payment, contact a lawyer. A skilled lawyer can expedite the process and help you get the payment that you need to support yourself.
Hiring a lawyer is an effective way to expedite the process of collecting life insurance. A knowledgeable lawyer understands the tactics that insurance companies employ when they stall the payment that deserving beneficiaries are owed. Your attorney can also help you understand if your insurance company is avoiding you or if they are simply doing their due diligence.
A major roadblock for beneficiaries often occurs when a loved one dies within the contestability period. Almost all insurance companies adhere to a two year contestability period. The contestability period goes into effect immediately after someone takes out a life insurance plan. If the insured dies within two years of firming up their plan, the insurance company will investigate to ensure that the death wasn’t suspicious or that the insured did not misrepresent anything on the application. If your loved one died within the contestability period, contact a lawyer right away for help ensuring your compensation is not wrongfully denied.
If you are fighting for the compensation that you need after a loved one passes away unexpectedly, the last stressor you need is an added expense. Our lawyers only collect payment from you if we successfully recover the life insurance payment that your insurance company owes. If we are able to hold your insurance company accountable, we only take a percentage of the money we win. Likewise, if don’t win against your insurance company, you don’t owe us a dime. Our knowledgeable Dallas team understands how discouraging facing an uncooperative insurance company can be, which is why we use all of the resources at our disposal to fight for you.
Please call the Dallas life insurance attorneys at (713) 999-5085 to discuss your case if your claim was unfairly denied. We don’t charge for the initial consultation and we represent most of our insurance clients on a contingency-fee basis. This means that you won’t owe us anything unless we recover money from the insurance company through a settlement or litigation..