Life Insurance Lawyer Serving AL
Work with the Experienced Alabama Life Insurance Lawyers at Boonswang Law. We Are Ready to Fight for You!
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Our team of Alabama life insurance lawyers has helped people throughout AL get the life insurance payout their loved one intended.
Life insurance should work this way – a policyholder purchases a policy to ensure the financial well-being of loved ones, and pays premiums during the policy term to maintain coverage until the policy term ends or the policyholder dies. You would think that at that point, life insurance beneficiaries automatically receive the death benefit.
Unfortunately, this is frequently not the case. Life insurance companies thwart the goals of the policyholder by unfairly and incorrectly denying or delaying payment on valid life insurance claims. If you feel your life insurance claim was wrongly denied or delayed, the AL life insurance lawyers at Boonswang Law can help.
Boonswang Law Has Helped Life Insurance Beneficiaries From These Alabama Cities and the Surrounding Areas:
- Birmingham
- Montgomery
- Huntsville
- Mobile
- Tuscaloosa
- Hoover
- Dothan
- Auburn
- Decatur
- Madison
- Florence
- Phenix City
- Prattsville
- Gadsden
- Vestavia Hills
Contact Boonswang Law Today to Discuss Your Life Insurance Claim with an Alabama Life Insurance Lawyer
Common Reasons for Denial of Life Insurance Claims in AL
Allegedly Misrepresentation
Any mistake or omission on the initial application for life insurance or the medical questionnaire will prompt the life insurance company to allege that the policyholder misrepresented themselves in order to get a lower premium payment. The life insurance company will then use that alleged instance of misrepresentation to retroactively cancel the policy for fraud and deny beneficiaries’ claims for death benefits.
If this happened to you, you should contest the denial of your claim. We have been able to get our beneficiary clients paid when the alleged misrepresentation had nothing to do with the cause of death. We have also been able to get our client beneficiaries paid when the alleged misrepresentation was related to the cause of death. We settle for the death benefit minus whatever the policyholder should have been paying in premiums had the life insurance company known of the missing fact and calculated premiums accordingly.
Call Boonswang Law, Your Life Insurance Lawyer in Alabama, to Discuss Your Life Insurance Claim
Our experienced life insurance attorneys have been helping life insurance beneficiaries throughout Alabama for decades. Our goal is to get you and your family the death benefits your loved one intended you receive.
Don’t let insurance companies take advantage of you! Contact us to discuss your claim. Your initial no-obligation consultation is free of charge. We are ready to fight for you!
Misinterpretation of the Policy Terms
Unfortunately for beneficiaries, it is very common for life insurance companies to interpret the terms of the policy in such a way as to deny a payout. Remember, life insurance companies only make money for their shareholders when they collect premiums but deny death benefit claims!
The Cause of Death is Allegedly Excluded from Coverage
Every life insurance policy will list causes of death that are excluded from coverage, called “exclusions.” These will vary among policies, however, suicide and death from acts of war or terrorism are commonly-found exclusions.
The life insurance company may try to shoe-horn the policyholder’s death into one of the listed exclusions. When this happens, we investigate and are often able to show that none of the listed exclusions apply, and our clients get paid.
Non-Payment of Premiums
In exchange for life insurance coverage, a policyholder pays premiums as they come due. When premiums are not paid, life insurance coverage ends.
You might think that is the end of the story, however, terminating a life insurance policy is highly regulated in every state, and all too often life insurance companies and employers who provide group life insurance coverage to their employees fail to follow those regulations. This can resul;t in nonpayment of premiums that is not the fault of the policyholder. Under these circumstances we have been able to get our beneficiary clients paid.
Here is What You Can Expect When You Work with the AL Life Insurance Lawyers at Boonswang Law
Our team of experienced AL life insurance lawyers will:
- Review the terms of the life insurance policy to determine coverage and exclusions, and explain any problems to you
- Review correspondence from the life insurance company and identify the reason or reasons for delay or denial of your claim for death benefits
- Handle negotiations with the life insurance company to get you your payout
- Thoroughly investigate all allegations made by the life insurance company in denying your claim to refute or cast doubt on those allegations
- Vigorously litigate your claim in court against the life insurance company when they are acting unreasonably or dishonestly in delaying or denying the payment of a valid life insurance claim
Just like any other business, life insurance companies are looking out for their profit margins. The more in premium payments a life insurance company collects and the fewer death benefit claims they pay out,, the more money they make for their shareholders. In other words, the interests of the life insurance company are at odds with your interests and the policyholder’s interests.
The AL life insurance lawyers at Boonswang Law Firm will fight to get you the death benefits you deserve after your loved one’s death.
Alabama Life Insurance Benefits FAQ
How Long Does it Take to Pay a Claim for Death Benefits?
You should receive your payout 30-60 days from filing your claim. If it has been longer than that, contact us. If the life insurance company unreasonably delayed your payout, you may be entitled to interest on the death benefits!
What Can I Do About a Life Insurance Claim Denial?
You can contest it. When you received the denial letter, you should have also received instructions on how to contest the denial of your claim.
Many valid life insurance claims are initially denied and then paid when you fight back. Call us for help.
Who is Permitted to Change the Beneficiary of a Life Insurance Policy in AL?
Only the policyholder. If someone else changed the beneficiary, this is fraud. Contact an experienced AL life insurance attorney to help you contest that designation immediately.
What Happens If the Beneficiary Dies Before the Life Insurance Policyholder?
If the primary beneficiary died before the policyholder and the policyholder did not update their beneficiary designation accordingly, the life insurance company will pay the death benefit to the secondary beneficiary or the contingent beneficiary. If the policyholder did not designate secondary or contingent beneficiaries, the death benefit can be paid to the policyholder’s estate.
What if there is No Beneficiary Listed on the Life Insurance Policy?
Just as when the beneficiary has predeceased the policyholder, the life insurance company will pay out to the policyholder’s estate.
Am I Permitted to Share Life Insurance Benefits with My Siblings?
Yes, there is no law preventing you from sharing the death benefit with anyone you choose. It is common for a policyholder to name only one child as a beneficiary with this expectation.
The Beneficiary Designation Was Changed Just Prior to Death from Me to Someone Else, Can I Contest It?
If you suspect the change was made fraudulently or under duress, the change can and should be contested. This type of case is very difficult to prove, so be sure to contact an experienced life insurance beneficiary attorney for help litigating this.
How Do I Find Out if Someone Had Life Insurance?
There is no national database of life insurance policyholders, so you will have to snoop around. Search the contents of the policyholder’s safe-deposit box and desk drawers, and look through your loved one’s recent mail for premium notices and through bank account statements for evidence of premium payments. You might also ask your loved one’s employer if they had group life insurance through work.
I’m a Beneficiary of a Lapsed Life Insurance Policy, Can I Still Get a Payout?
Perhaps. You should contest the claim denial. It is possible to still get paid if the lapse was not the fault of the policyholder.
For example, if an employer failed to give the policyholder conversion papers or improperly administered the policy, the beneficiary will still get paid. If the life insurance company failed to send the policyholder the legally-required notices of lapse, the beneficiary will still get paid. If the policyholder was eligible for disability waiver of premium and did not get it, the beneficiary will get paid.
Can the Beneficiary on a Life Insurance Policy Be Changed After the Policy Holder’s Death?
Absolutely not! A beneficiary changed after the date of the policyholder’s death is fraudulent. Contact an experienced life insurance beneficiary attorney immediately.
Life Insurance Attorneys Serving These States*
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- Mississippi
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
