Life Insurance Lawyer Serving Kentucky
The Life Insurance Law Firm – Boonswang Law
The Experienced Kentucky Life Insurance Lawyers at Boonswang Law Are Ready to Fight for You!
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Contact Boonswang Law Today to Discuss Your Life Insurance Claim with a Kentucky Life Insurance Lawyer
Our team of Kentucky life insurance lawyers has helped people throughout KY get the life insurance payout their loved one intended they receive.
You think you know how life insurance works: someone buys a life insurance policy to ensure the financial well-being of their loved ones. They then pay premiums during the policy term to maintain life insurance coverage until the policy term ends or they die.
You might think that if the policyholder dies within the term, their beneficiaries automatically receive the death benefit. Unfortunately, this is rarely the case. Life insurance companies have no incentive to pay beneficiaries because they only make money for their shareholders when they collect premiums and then deny claims.
If you feel your life insurance claim was wrongly denied or is being unfairly delayed, the Kentucky life insurance lawyers at Boonswang Law can help you. Call us today to discuss your case, free of charge.
The Life Insurance Lawyers at Boonswang Law Help Life Insurance Beneficiaries From These Kentucky Cities and their Surrounding Areas:
Frequent Denial Reasons for Kentucky Life Insurance Claims
The Insurance Company Misinterprets Policy Terms
Life insurance companies frequently interpret the terms of a policy in such a way as to deny beneficiaries their payout. Remember, life insurance companies only make money for their shareholders when they collect premiums but deny death benefit claims.
Call us if you feel the insurance company has unfairly and improperly denied your life insurance claim.
Lapse of Coverage for Failure to Pay Premiums
A policyholder must pay premiums as they come due to maintain life insurance coverage. If the policyholder fails to pay premiums, life insurance coverage ends.
If your life insurance claim was denied because coverage lapsed due to unpaid premiums, call us. We may be able to get you paid. Terminating life insurance coverage 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.
Often, a failure to follow regulations regarding termination of life insurance coverage can result in nonpayment of premium that is not the fault of the policyholder. Under these circumstances we have been able to get our beneficiary clients paid.
Misrepresentation by the Policyholder
A policyholder must disclose personal details, occupation, address, date of birth, personal habits such as smoking or drinking alcohol, hobbies, current medications, and health history on their initial application for life insurance and their medical questionnaire. An insurance adjuster will calculate the risk that the policyholder will die within the policy term based on this information. Policyholders at greater risk of dying within the policy term pay higher premiums than policyholders at less risk.
If the policyholder omits information or makes a mistake, the life insurance company may allege that the policyholder misrepresented themselves in order to get a lower premium payment. The life insurance company will then retroactively cancel the policy due to the alleged fraud and deny beneficiaries’ claims for death benefits.
If this happened to you, you should contest the denial of your claim. Often what is allegedly misrepresentation was a simple mistake, or the policyholder did not understand the question, or the insurance agent completing the form for the policyholder made a mistake. Call us and let us look into it for you.
A Policy Exclusions Allegedly Applies
All life insurance policies list causes of death that are excluded from coverage. These are called “exclusions.” Exclusions 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.
READY TO TALK TO AN ATTORNEY ABOUT YOUR LIFE INSURANCE BENEFITS?
CLICK HEREWhat to Expect When You Work with the KY Life Insurance Lawyers at Boonswang Law
You have probably never worked with a life insurance lawyer before. We promise that our team of experienced KY life insurance lawyers will:
- Review the policy terms to determine coverage and exclusions
- Review all correspondence from the life insurance company and identify the reason or reasons for delay or denial of your claim for death benefits
- Negotiate with the life insurance company to get you your payout
- Investigate all allegations made by the life insurance company in denying your claim to refute or cast doubt on those allegations
- Litigate your claim in court against the life insurance company if necessary
Like any other business, life insurance companies make their profit margins a priority. 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 KY life insurance lawyers at Boonswang Law Firm will fight to get you the death benefits you deserve after your loved one’s death.
Common Life Insurance Questions in Kentucky
How Long Should it Take for Life Insurance to Pay Out?
You should receive life insurance death benefits 30-60 days after filing your claim. If this time period has elapsed and you have not received your payout, contact us. If the life insurance company unreasonably delayed your payout, you may be entitled to interest on the death benefits!
My Life Insurance Claim was Denied, What Should I Do?
You should contest that denial.
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.
How Do I Find Out if Someone Had Life Insurance?
You will have to snoop around, as there is no list of all policyholders available.
You might search the contents of the policyholder’s safe-deposit box and desk drawers for life insurance policy documents. Also look through their 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.
Am I Permitted to Share Life Insurance Benefits with My Siblings?
Of course! There is no law preventing you from sharing the death benefit with anyone you choose. In fact, it is pretty common for a policyholder to name only one child as a beneficiary with this expectation.
Who is Permitted to Change a Life Insurance Beneficiary Designation in KY?
Only a policyholder has the power to change their life insurance beneficiary designation. If someone else changes their beneficiary, they have committed fraud.
If you suspect that a beneficiary designation was changed fraudulently, contact an experienced KY life insurance attorney to help you contest that designation immediately.
What Happens If the Beneficiary Dies Before the Life Insurance Policyholder?
If the policyholder did not update their beneficiary designation when the primary beneficiary died, 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?
As when the beneficiary has predeceased the policyholder, the life insurance company will pay out to the policyholder’s estate.
The Beneficiary Designation Was Changed from Me to Someone Else Just Prior to Death, Can I Contest It?
You can, if you suspect the change was made fraudulently or under duress. Fraudulent beneficiary change is very difficult to prove, so be sure to contact an experienced life insurance beneficiary attorney for help with litigating this.
Can the Beneficiary on a Life Insurance Policy Be Changed After the Policy Holder’s Death?
No! If the beneficiary designation was changed after the date of the policyholder’s death, that change is fraudulent. Contact an experienced life insurance beneficiary attorney immediately for help.
My Life Insurance Claim was Denied Due to Lapse, Can I Still Get a Payout?
It is possible, if you can show that the lapse was not the fault of the policyholder. You should contest the claim denial.
There are many instances in which lapse is not the fault of the policyholder. For example, if an employer failed to give the policyholder conversion papers or otherwise 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.
Call the KY Life Insurance Lawyers Today to Discuss Your Life Insurance Claim
For decades our experienced life insurance attorneys have been helping life insurance beneficiaries throughout Kentucky get their death benefits paid. 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!