can a insurance company, not pay on a life policy, after they have been taking premium for 3 years,missed form

Question

the company is saying the person did not pervide 1 form.
for three years,the policy should have been caneled long before 3 years if that was the case?

Answer 1

Yes, a life insurance company can refuse to pay after first 2 years of the policy. If you gave any false information or left out some information, the insurance company can refuse to pay death benefits. But they can return all premiums you paid into the policy (if such law exists in your state or country. In my state, it does).

Life insurance contracts have a 2 year incontestability clause. No matter what false info you have on the life application, they can't contest or past judgement on you for 2 full years. After that, if they find something isn't right with the life application, they can investigate.

Answer 2

If the policy has been in effect for 3 yrs then I do not think that the insurance company is going to be able to get out of paying the claim, forms or no forms. As was mentioned earlier, life insurance has a 2-yr contestability clause in it, meaning that for the first 2 yrs of the policies life the insurance company has to right to refuse a claim if they think they have been provided false information or if the person insured commits suicide. After 2 yrs that is no longer the case, even if you blatantly lied on the form, as long as it's been over 2 yrs, then the company will be responsible to pay the claim. There are however, contingencIEs to this rule, ie...the person insured lied about thier age, whether or not they're male/female (don't laugh...it's happened), or some other fundamental base rating issue. Under those kinds of circumstances then the company is still going to have to pay the policy, however, they will have the right to adjust the policy amount to fit what should have been rated to begin with, however they can not adjust the policy amount due to medical problems, suicide, etc...regardless of whether or not they were present when the policy was written.

Answer 3

I doubt that that argument will hold water.

In order to have any credibility, the insurance company will have to refund all the premiums paid over the three years. Technically, that should absolve the insurance company from any liability for paying on the policy. The problem is that the insurance company is responsible for requesting and filing the necessary forms.

If they requested this form several times and notified the insuree that he wouldn't be insured without this form, then the insurance company is in the clear. The insuree had a choice to provide the form or find a different insurer. Since the insurance company accepted premiums for three years, I doubt this is the case.

If they neglected to notice they did not have all the forms they wanted, then they harmed the insuree by leading him to believe he was insured. Accepting payments for three years certainly leads the insuree to believe he is insured.

I'd get a lawyer to look at this.

Answer 4

That could be a problem if the owner of the policy didn't specify who was to receive to proceeds after their death. If that is the case they will eventually pay the estate of the deceased if they were the policy owner. It sounds like it wasn't the insurance companies fault the owner waited way too long to declare a beneficiary and continued to pay the premium!

Answer 5

the first 2 years beginning with the issue date of the policy, the policy is in what they call a contestable and suicide period. what this means is during the first 2 years of the policy being issued, the insurance company can contest the information provided during the underwriting process. this includes medical information, driving record, credit score, etc. if for any reason a claim is made during the first 2 years, including suicide, and they find that misinformation was provided, they have the right to refuse a claim.

Answer 6

I would get a lawyer, and speak with him about it. You see obe213 is right they do have incontestability period, and other's are right too. They do have to atleast give the insured back their premuim that they have paid. However, you said it has been 3 years. 3 years is over the incontestability period for most states. You can contact the Insurance Department in your state and they can answer some of your questions. However, I would still seek out the lawyer.

Answer 7

See if you can produce the original documentation that the policy holder signed. If not, get a lawyer, but you may be at the Insurance Company's mercy.

Answer 8

At the very least they must return the premium paid. Contact your states local insurance commissioner and let the insurance company know up front that is your next step. Whom ever you spoke with at that company you need to speak with their supervisor. Good luck.

Answer 9

Insurance companies will do all they can to not pay out any money. The insurance industry is a racket. There is no control. You can try to hire a lawyer and see what they can do. Insurance companies suck.

Answer 10

Bob G. answered this pretty well. The only other suggestion is that you are beyond the incontestability clause, which may provided for a good arguement for them to pay the claim, if that is what needs to happen.

Matt