Life Insurance Lawyer Serving Virginia

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The Life Insurance Law Firm — Boonswang Law

Finding yourself in need of a life insurance lawyer serving VA can be a stressful and confusing situation, especially if you've had a claim denied or if you're trying to understand complex policy structures.

The intricacies of life insurance law require expertise and guidance that only a lawyer specializing in insurance law can provide. Whether you’re facing a denied claim, bad faith actions, or simply seeking advice on your policy, the life insurance lawyers at Boonswang Law are here to help navigate these challenging circumstances.

Contact us today to schedule your free case consultation and find out how we can help get you the payout you deserve.

Boonswang Law’s VA Life Insurance Lawyers Have Helped Life Insurance Beneficiaries From These Cities and the Surrounding Areas:

Call to Discuss Your Case with a VA Life Insurance Lawyer at Boonswang Law

Reasons Life Insurance Claims are Frequently Denied in VA

Interpretation Issues

Frequently, life insurance companies will bend over backward to interpret the terms of the policy in such a way as to deny beneficiaries’ claims for death benefits. Remember, life insurance companies only make money for their shareholders when they collect premiums but deny death benefit claims, so they have little incentive to pay you!

Contact the VA Life Insurance Lawyers at Boonswang Law Today

Our goal is to get you and your family the death benefits your loved one intended you receive. Our experienced life insurance attorneys have been helping life insurance beneficiaries throughout Virginia for decades, and we can help you too.

Keep in mind that the life insurance company has a team of lawyers on their side, working to figure out a way to avoid paying you. You need a team of lawyers on your side too, and we are ready to fight for you.

Contact us to discuss your claim.

Policy Premiums Not Paid

A policyholder must pay premiums as they come due if they wish to maintain life insurance coverage. If the policyholder fails to pay premiums, the policy lapses, terminates, and coverage ends. 

Don’t think that automatically means a beneficiary won’t get paid. Terminating a life insurance policy is highly regulated by state law. Life insurance companies and employers who provide group life insurance coverage for their employees frequently fail to follow those regulations, resulting in nonpayment of premiums that is not the fault of the policyholder. 

Call us if your life insurance claim was denied due to lapse. When a policy lapses and that lapse was not the fault of the policyholder, we have been able to get our beneficiary clients paid.

Death from Self-Inflicted Injuries

All life insurance policies list “exclusions,” which are causes of death that are not included in the coverage plan. While the exact list of exclusions varies between life insurance companies and even between individual policies, suicide and death from acts of war or terrorism are common exclusions.

The life insurance company may allege that the policyholder committed suicide and deny your claim for death benefits. Other causes of death can look like suicide, and in these cases, we investigate and are often able to show that the exclusion does not apply, and our clients get paid.

Retroactive Cancellation of the Policy

If the policyholder made a mistake, even an innocent one, on their initial application for life insurance or the medical questionnaire, that 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 then uses that alleged misrepresentation as an excuse to retroactively cancel the policy and deny beneficiaries’ claims. 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 do so by settling for an amount that equals 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.

Insurance Scams & Bad Faith: What to Watch Out For

Unfortunately, scams and bad-faith actions are not uncommon in the world of life insurance. Here are a few of the most common scams in Virginia and what to watch out for when dealing with life insurance agents and companies.

Indexed Universal Life Insurance

All too often, insurance agents glorify the potential returns of an Indexed Universal Life Insurance policy without a full explanation of the associated complexities and hidden costs.

If a sales agent oversold the benefits of an IUL policy while downplaying the risks, contact our team of life insurance attorneys who can advocate for your policyholder rights.

Churning Scams

Churning is when an insurance agent convinces a policyholder to switch policies or make unnecessary changes. These modifications might appear beneficial but can result in increased premiums or lost benefits.

Unscrupulous insurance agents prioritize their profit from these commissions over the financial well-being of their clients. If you’ve been a victim of a churning scam, the attorneys at Boonswang Law are standing by to h

Insurance Bad Faith

Insurance bad faith practices in Virginia involve the intentional denial of a legitimate claim or employing unethical tactics to delay or underpay a claim. These actions can leave policyholders feeling betrayed and financially vulnerable.

As Virginia life insurance lawyers specializing in denied claims, the team at Boonswang Law can identify these practices and provide legal support.

What to Expect When You Entrust Your Life Insurance Claim With the VA Life Insurance Lawyers at Boonswang Law

You can rely on our team of experienced VA life insurance lawyers to:

  • Review the terms of the life insurance policy to determine coverage and exclusions, and explain any problems in coverage to you
  • Take over correspondence with the life insurance company to identify the reason or reasons for the delay or denial of your claim for death benefits
  • Negotiate with the life insurance company to get you your payout
  • Investigate claims and allegations made by the life insurance company in denying your claim to refute or cast doubt on those claims
  • Litigate your claim against the life insurance company in court when they are acting unreasonably or dishonestly in delaying or denying the payment of a valid life insurance claim

Life insurance companies are just like any other business — they are looking out for their bottom line. The more 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.

The VA life insurance lawyers at Boonswang Law Firm will fight to get you the life insurance payout you deserve after your loved one’s death.

Frequently Asked Questions About Life Insurance in VA

Who Has the Power to Change the Beneficiary of a Life Insurance Policy in VA?

In Virginia, the power to change the beneficiary of a life insurance policy generally resides with the policy owner. If this designation has been changed by someone else, this could be considered fraud. Our team can help decipher the specific terms of your policy, especially if you suspect unscrupulous actions.

Yes, there is a statute of limitations to dispute a life insurance claim denial in Virginia, but only for employer-sponsored group life insurance policies. This statute is 60 days. That said, we can sometimes get that period of time extended if there is a good reason for not appealing within the 60 days. 

While there is no official time limit for other types of policies, sooner is better for effective evidence collection. Always be sure to consult your insurance policy to determine the best timeline for filing claims.

 

When there is a deceased beneficiary on the policy, the proceeds are usually paid to a contingent beneficiary or secondary beneficiary if one is named.

Without any living beneficiaries listed, the proceeds will become part of the insured’s estate. This makes insurance proceeds subject to the policyholder’s creditors. This can be avoided by updating beneficiaries and making sure to list a secondary or contingent beneficiary.

If a life insurance policy has no beneficiary listed or all named beneficiaries are deceased in Virginia, the death benefit typically reverts to the insured’s estate.

Unfortunately, there is no master list of all persons holding life insurance. You’ll have to do some research, like checking personal records, contacting their employer, or reaching out to known insurance agents or companies. A life insurance lawyer can also assist you in this discovery process.

Yes, you can share life insurance benefits with your siblings in Virginia. If you are named as the beneficiary and wish to divide the benefits, you have the discretion to do so.

It’s the right of the policyholder to change the beneficiary up until their death. If the change was legitimate, there’s nothing for you to do. 

However, if the change was illegitimate or suspicious, consult with a life insurance lawyer as soon as possible. They can review the circumstances, such as potential undue influence or lack of mental capacity, and guide you through the appropriate legal steps to contest the change if warranted.

 

If the lapse wasn’t the fault of the policyholder, you may still have options to pursue a claim. Employer negligence, insurance company error, and banking errors are some common reasons policies lapse without any fault to the policyholder.

No. A life insurance beneficiary designation cannot be changed after the policyholder dies. Once the policyholder passes away, the beneficiary designation becomes irrevocable, and the benefits will be paid to the named beneficiary.

Yes. If the spouse was supposed to be the beneficiary and a change occurred under suspected fraud or duress, the spouse has the right to contest the designation.