by SAM1955 » Fri Oct 12, 2012 02:42 pm
Sent in claim forms on 8/23/12...for my deceased child who as 24 years old. The policy was increased b 5,000 in 2011. The remainder of the policy should be non contestable. Should that part be paid now. We took the policy out when he was 11 years old. We complained to BBB and the State Insurance & Banking dept. for their delay. DO THEY OWE INTEREST ON THE FULL AMOUNT.
The GL website showed CLAIM PENDING and now it reads CLAIM COMPLETED. YOUR OPINION PLEASE, should we retain an insurance attorney
The GL website showed CLAIM PENDING and now it reads CLAIM COMPLETED. YOUR OPINION PLEASE, should we retain an insurance attorney
Posted: Sat Oct 13, 2012 12:47 pm Post Subject:
The GL website showed CLAIM PENDING and now it reads CLAIM COMPLETED. YOUR OPINION PLEASE, should we retain an insurance attorney
You're talking about 6 weeks to process a death claim. That's a little longer than most companies would take, but not terribly long.
Have you not received the check? Is that what the issue is, or did the company deny the claim? I can't tell what your problem is.
As for an attorney, that's probably a waste of time and money -- this is what, a $5,000 or $10,000 policy? And asking the BBB for assistance with an insurance company . . . that's even less valuable than an attorney.
Now if you have what could amount to a class action, that's a different story.
Please provide more details of what your issue is.
Posted: Sat Oct 13, 2012 01:17 pm Post Subject: Additional Detail on Life Insurance Delayed Pymt.
When we 1st took the policy out on our son in 1998 it was for $10,000 and now the value with increases over the years is $50,000. The last increase was for $5,000 in Nov. 2011. This $5,000 GL said is contestible. However, the claimed the remaining $45,000 was non-contestible. We are still waiting for that check. Since contacting the Oklahoma State Insurance Dept. and their contacting Globe Life, we noticed there GL website for our policy changed this week to show "Claim Completed", and since August it had just said
"Claim Pending". Because of our complaint to the BBB, they have not spoken with us in anger, however, we are still able to access and printout the status. Their website shows the policy was paid up to 8/12 although our son died in July, so we were up to date. Does claim completed necessarily mean a check is pending? Thanks, and we have been told an insurance attorney is useless, not sure why though.
Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2012 02:57 pm Post Subject:
Does claim completed necessarily mean a check is pending? Thanks, and we have been told an insurance attorney is useless, not sure why though.
I would think that "Claim Completed" means a check was issued. Do you know approximately when that status changed?
As far as an attorney is concerned, you would only want to start that process if there was some egregious conduct on the part of the insurance company -- like not paying the claim at all. The contestability of the last $5000 increase is a concern to me. Just because it is "contestable" doesn't mean it is deniable. They can only deny payment under specific reasons, all of which have to do with underwriting issues.
Please correspond with me in private by clicking on the email link below, because I have some questions that are inappropriate for a public forum like this but the answers to which may result in obtaining those additional $5000 for you.
If they are unfairly denying payment of those last $5000, then you may have a foot in the door for a bad faith civil suit that could possibly widen in to a class action. That's what excites attorneys. If they are unreasonably delaying the payment of the death benefit, depending on what OK law states, you could be entitled to excess interest on the unpaid death benefit -- for example, CA law requires that if the death benefit is not paid within 120 days of the claim, interest on the death benefit must be paid at the rate of 10% per year FROM THE DATE OF DEATH. (This would be less than 120 days ago, but at the very least, and generally speaking, when a death claim is not paid within 30 days, interest is still payable on the proceeds from the day of death, and typically insurance companies are paying an annual rate of between 2%-3% these days.)
Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2012 04:43 pm Post Subject: Globe life policy since 1998 on son
Yes, I agree with the above answers. Consult an attorney to guide you for your next course of action.
Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2012 05:12 pm Post Subject:
Consult an attorney to guide you for your next course of action.
Absolutely NOT!!
This is not yet a matter that requires an attorney. The OP merely needs some coaching from someone like an experienced agent or former claims person with knowledge of handling life insurance matters. Honestly, most attorneys have no clue if they've never been up against an insurance company before.
Involving an attorney in a case valued at $50,000 means the bereaved parents will walk away with a mere $30,000-$35,000. Why would you want them to suffer that kind of harm?
The only issue here is the delay in paying the death benefit, and whether they are entitled to withhold the final $5000 added in the past year. I don't know that that amount is even contestable -- it isn't if the cause of death is accidental or for any reason not subject to underwriting.
The single biggest mistake people make is listening to someone's recommendation to get an attorney long before one is needed. NO ONE NEEDS AN ATTORNEY until they can't get the insurance company to change its tune. If a person has pressed for what they believe is right, and the insurance company resists, then, maybe, it's time to think about an attorney.
Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2012 06:20 pm Post Subject:
I think that we are probably a little premature to think that there is an issue here. It sounds as if you are about to get a check for $45,000. As for the other $5,000, the insurance company just wants to make sure. My guess is that it is contestible, otherwise, it makes no sense to withhold it.
None of what I posted is authoritative, but I'm probably correct on this one.
When you say that they haven't spoken to you in anger, that doesn't make sense. The employee talking to you doesn't care about a BBB complaint. Try calling again. You should be able to get your answers.
Personally, it sounds as if you are just getting poor service as opposed to some plot to cheat you.
Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2012 06:50 pm Post Subject:
it sounds as if you are just getting poor service as opposed to some plot to cheat you.
That's exactly correct, and it's the same reason an attorney at this point is both a waste of time and money.
When dealing with the claims dept, using certain "magic words" usually gets their attention and often changes the speed at which things get done. A little help from someone who knows their way around a claims dept will work wonders. Attorneys, on the other hand, seem to put everyone on the defensive, which doesn't help.
Like all "contestable" issues, however, it has to be related to material misrepresentation and, specifically, to underwriting issues. There is nothing else to contest, except perhaps, suicide.
In these "jumping juvenile" policies, I'm sure the action to increase the coverage by $5000 last year required some health-related questions to be answered. But if the death of the young man was completely unrelated to any of that -- such as the result of an accident -- the additional benefit would have to be paid.
Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2012 02:29 am Post Subject:
As for that $5,000, I don't think that the issue is that they are trying to not pay it. Rather, they are doing their due diligence to make sure that they should pay it. For the rest of the policy, the only question is "dead or alive?" If "dead", the claim gets paid. For that last $5,000, like you said, there is also the question of material misrepresentation and/or suicide.
Posted: Thu Mar 21, 2019 07:35 pm Post Subject: Claim completed
Life insurance agent says "Claim was completed". I asked, does this mean approved. She answered, I can't say if claim was approved or denied, but if I haven't received correspondence in 15 days, they can do a stop payment and reissue. Am I to assume the claim was approved.
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