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What else can I help you with?
How do you file a life insurance claim?
Call the insurance company and tell the representative that you want to file a claim. You will be given instructions. You will have to complete a claim form that the insurer provides, and at a minimum, submit a certified copy of the death certificate. The insurer may or may not conduct a further investigation, or request additional documentation.
If there are two different life insurance policies which insurer pays?
A life insurance policy is a contract. You can have as many as you want. They all have to pay out on the death of the insured.
Why would life insurance company ask you to sign something telling them who your plan is with through your employer?
One of the factors that a life insurer is concerned with when issuing a policy is whether the applicant has a pre-existing condition (a condition that existed prior to the application for life insurance). It wishes to know this because, based upon the insurer's underwriting guidelines, it may want to, or have the right to, exclude coverage if death results from that condition. Therefore, the life insurer may want to examine the health insurer's records to determine if (1) answers on the two insurance applications were consistent; and/or (2) the health insurer paid claims for treatment of a condition that was not disclosed on the life insurance application.
When filing a life insurance claim should documents be received from the insurance company before sending the death certificate?
If you want to be sure your claim gets paid, and not denied, get the death certificate before you send anything to the insurance company. Many times we see death certificates that state causes of death, such as "head trauma...due to intoxication", that are not accurate but will certainly get the claim denied. If you get the death certificate first you can deal with any issues of improper reporting. I work at the Center for Life Insurance Disputes and we help clients collect death benefits.
Do life insurance companies want to pay claim?
Reputable life insurance companies do want to pay claims. They wish to develop positive consumer images, stay in line with regulatory requirements, and grow their business. Life insurance companies are able to cap their risks to some degree, unlike certain other kinds of insurers. By this I mean the a life insurance company is on the hook for a fixed benefit equal to the amount of insurance purchased by or on behalf of the insured. This is in contrast, for example, to an auto liability insurer that has a range of dollars that it may pay on a claim up to the maximum amount of coverage purchased. All of that said, a life insurance company will conduct an investigation as to the cause of death and to make sure that the insured did not misrepresent his state of health when the policy was purchased. This does not mean the it wishes to deny the claim, but instead, to make sure that it is a proper claim and that the policy was issued based upon accurate information.
How many months can a life insurance company take to pay the beneficiary?
Great question! Most state laws require the insurance company to pay a claim within 30 to 90 days, however there are caveats. The caveat is "unless more time is required". This, of course, allows an insurer to delay as long as they want. If you have a claim that is being delayed I recommend you contact the Center for Life Insurance Disputes. They help people with delayed and denied life insurance claims.
How long do you have to claim life insurance?
The initial answer is not correct. While there may not be a statute of limitations as such for a life insurance claim (like there is for a civil lawsuit), waiting to file a claim often makes it far more difficult to collect. Among the reasons include: (1) the insurance policy may become lost. It shows the policy number which makes it a great deal more difficult for the insurer to identify the applicable policy. (2) the insurer may merge with another and, therefore, it becomes much more difficult for the beneficiary to determine with what company to file a claim. (3) Periodically, as required by state insurance regulators, insurers must report on unclaimed property. Insurance policies that have not been redeemed are, for life insurers, part of that process. Therefore, the failure to promptly claim life insurance proceeds runs the risk of the policy being turned over to an Unclaimed Property Division of a state. The state can be where the insurer was domiciled, rather than where the insured or the beneficiary lived. Therefore, it is made more difficult to find and claim the proceeds.
Can doctors who don't accept Medicare assignment charge anything they want?
Physicians can charge what they want. Patients can choose to see them or not. If a physician submits a claim to insurance, it will be paid according to his or her contract with the insurance company, or according to the insurer's policies.
Can you phone somebody about a paid up policy?
If you know the identity of the insurance company or the insurance agent that sold it to the insured, you can call. However, if you are not the insured, they will want to know the reason for your call and your authority to call on the insured's behalf. If the insured has died and you have reason to believe that you were the beneficiary of the policy, ask the insurer to send you a life insurance claim form. You will have to supply information about yourself, the name of the insured, and the policy number. Fill out the claim form and return it to the insurer. It may have to investigate to determine whether you are the correct recipient of policy benefits.
Why might life insurance companies want to know your genetic results?
In theory, an insurer may be interested in genetics because it could be a predictor of future health problems resulting in premature death. Because a life insurance policy pays upon the death of the insured, the insurer may be interested in knowing whether an applicant has a genetic predisposition to early death. That said, insurance generally, including life insurance, works upon a principle called the "law of large numbers". Essentially, this means that because the insurer insures many people/entities and takes on many risks, the occurrence of one or a few ordinary covered losses will not make a great deal of difference. Because insurance is a regulated industry, for reasons of public policy, many states disallow insurers from considering certain genetic conditions in deciding whether or not to issue a policy. An example is genetic conditions that are particular to certain racial groups.
Is it possible to ask a car insurance company to stay away from filing a claim?
Assuming that you have collision coverage, you are under no obligation to have your insurer pay for the repairs to your car. You are free to pay for the repairs yourself. If there was another vehicle involved, and you were at fault for the collision, other considerations exist. The other person involved will likely want to assert a claim with your insurer to ensure that damages get covered. However, if you can reach an agreement to pay for the other party's damages yourself, you may be able to circumvent having a claim filed.
Can you dispute life insurance beneficiary?
Unless the policy specifies that the beneficiary designation is irrevocable, the owner of the policy, who is most often the insured, has the right to change the beneficiary of a life insurance policy at any time prior to death. That said, a third party may also contest the right of a beneficiary to policy proceeds by making a claim to them forms required by the company. In that case, there may end up being a contest between the competing claimants, such that the insurer would want to commence an "interpleader action" in a court of competent jurisdiction. The insurer would thereby ask the court to determine which of the claimants it should pay, and by so doing, try to avoid getting in the middle of the dispute. The court would hash out the rights of the parties to the proceeds, and the insurer would pay the winner.
