What are my options if my Florida life insurance claim is denied or delayed?
What are my options if my Florida life insurance claim is denied or delayed?
Millions of dollars in Florida life insurance claims go unpaid every year as a result of improper denials of claims. When a claim is made for life insurance benefits in Florida, one of the first things the life insurance company typically does is look for a reason not to pay. This is a horrible way to treat policy owners and their beneficiaries who have been paying premiums for benefits often for decades.
What types of life insurance claims have you been able to recover?
The Florida life insurance attorneys in my office have recovered millions of dollars in previously denied life insurance benefits for beneficiaries. Some examples of the life insurance claims that our office has recovered benefits for the beneficiaries are:
Benefits for a minor who has turned 18 – We represented to Florida beneficiary who was designated as the proper beneficiary on the life insurance policy through her mother, as she was a minor at the time the policy application was completed. The insurance company refused to pay her the benefits because she was not properly listed as the beneficiary. Our office was able to convince the insurance company to reverse their decision and with the consent of the mother, pay the full benefits to the child, who was now over the age of 18. Last minute beneficiary change – Our Florida life insurance attorneys successfully handled the life insurance dispute on behalf of several family members who for many years were designated as the beneficiaries under their father’s life insurance policy. Just a few short months before the insured died, his new girlfriend allegedly convinced him to change the beneficiaries and put her as sole beneficiary. A review of the insured’s medical records showed that he had been suffering from mental illness for a period of time and may not have fully understood what he was doing, or had made the change of beneficiary as a result of the undue influence of his girlfriend.
Life insurance policy canceled for nonpayment of premium based upon an inaccurate accounting by the life insurance company – Our office has handled several life insurance disputes where the policy was canceled because premiums were allegedly not received by the life insurance company. In one case, the policy owner sent a Western Union check to the life insurance company which they denied ever receiving, despite the policy owner having a receipt from Western Union. After several months of litigation, the life insurance company agreed to settle the claim.
Under some cases, like where the policy owner is over a certain age or where the life insurance policy requires, the life insurance company is required to send a specific notice letter to the policy owner before they are allowed to cancel the policy for nonpayment of premiums, even when the premiums were not paid. If they failed to send the proper notice letter, the policy may be paid even where the premiums may not have been paid to date. The law or the contract sometimes requires the life insurance company to send a reminder notice before they are allowed to cancel the policy. If they forget to send the notice letter, they may have to pay the claim.
Claim denial for misrepresentation on the insurance application – Our life insurance attorneys in Florida have recovered millions of dollars in life insurance benefits even where a policy claim was denied for material misrepresentation on the insurance application. Oftentimes, life insurance agents complete the application on behalf of the policy owner or insured without asking them all of the proper questions. Also, many policy owners do not know all of the medical terms when they are completing the policy application. Many policies require that the applicant complete the answers only to the best of their knowledge and belief. If the person completed those answers based on what they knew and what they believed, then they did not technically misrepresent any of the facts on the application and may be entitled to the life insurance benefits under the law.
If my life insurance claim was denied in Florida, what can I do next?
You can call a Florida life insurance attorney in my office for a free consultation at 800-337-7755. Not only are we on call at night and on weekends for free consultation, our office also handles these Florida life insurance claims on a contingency fee basis. That means that you never have to pay us any money out of pocket to investigate and pursue the claim on your behalf. We only get paid if you recover benefits.
If you have any questions whatsoever regarding an unpaid or delayed life insurance claim in Florida, please feel free to give me a call. We are happy to discuss your case with you!
