who'd just taken it out only a couple months prior and who was murdered?
This is part of a subplot. Deciding if I want to throw this in or if it's too unbelievable.
2007-09-24 07:08:39 · 13 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ Books & Authors
A lot - depending on the cause of death.
This is where research and interviews come in to play. If you do not know the answer to something, do the research and find out. I have a team of consultants (Hi Guys!!) A lawyer, a cop, a doctor and several others. If I cannot get an answer to a question, I ask.
In this case, obviously there would be a criminal investigation into the murder. If the insurance company can find a way to get out of paying off a claim, they will. If the beneficiary of the policy is suspect, they can forget about collecting until their name is cleared. Any insurance investigator worth their paycheck knows it is their job to save the company money by not paying claims. An insurance investigator would probably be assigned to the case and would either work it with the police or work it on their own parallel to the police investigation. They are going to be relentless in their pursuit.
By the way, James Patterson has used this scenario before. It was a major part of the plot of Honeymoon for one.
And to the poster a couple up from me - the spouse and immediate family are almost ALWAYS the first suspects. The police will work to clear them first.
Pax - C
2007-09-24 10:09:15 · answer #1 · answered by Persiphone_Hellecat 7 · 1⤊ 6⤋
Someone being murdered a couple of months after an insurance policy had been taken out on their life would look pretty suspicious. A lot may depend on who took out the policy, the size of the policy payout, and who is/are the beneficiaries.
The first suspect in a murder is often the spouse. If the insurance policy named the spouse as the beneficiary and there's a lot of money at stake, then I would imagine that the focus of the murder investigation may be more focused on the spouse because of the insurance policy.
Make sure that your beneficiary has a very good alibi for the time of the murder.
I hope that you're really writing a book...! :)
2007-09-24 14:23:16 · answer #2 · answered by Winger 3 · 3⤊ 3⤋
There would definitely be a lot of investigation on the part of the insurance company because insurance companies don't want to pay out if they don't have to. They'd make sure that there was no foul play by the beneficiaries and it'd probably hold up payment for quite some time. It would also depend on if the policy covered murder?
2007-09-24 14:12:50 · answer #3 · answered by Gypsydayne 6 · 2⤊ 4⤋
Depends on who was murder, how, when where and why and circumstances surrounding death. Speaking as a PI, it would take several months to investigate, longer if foul play is involved, wheter suspect is still at large...ect ......ect...... Death certificate is necessary and Insurance has to be satisfied that claim is valied before they pay off claim, it could take up to a year or several depending on Insurance Company. The higher the clain they longer investigation thus the longer wait to pay off the claim.
2007-09-24 14:20:43 · answer #4 · answered by John B 6 · 9⤊ 1⤋
I would assume that with thousands of dollars at stake, any insurance company would investigate any claim fully. It is very very believable, especially if, as you say, the policy was only bought a couple of months before the untimely death. Good luck to you!!
2007-09-24 14:13:35 · answer #5 · answered by lookn_4_laffs 5 · 3⤊ 2⤋
Ithink that depends on whether the beneficiary would be a viable suspect or whether they have an ironclad alibi. Even then if the DA has a mission like the one at Duke the investigation could go on forever
2007-09-24 14:16:10 · answer #6 · answered by rofe 5 · 4⤊ 3⤋
If someone takes out a life insruance policy on someone two months before they die, yes, that's going to raise a lot of red flags. Not only would the insurance company investigate, bu the police are liable too as well.
2007-09-24 14:12:44 · answer #7 · answered by Bookworm 4 · 2⤊ 5⤋
The beneficiary would certainly be the prime suspect and the police would certainly conduct a thorough investigation of that person.
2007-09-24 14:13:19 · answer #8 · answered by suspendedagain300 6 · 2⤊ 3⤋
Was the body found? Is it identifiable? Was it definitely murder? (They don't pay for suicides.) They will investigate if they think its fraud. Watch "Double Indemnity."
2007-09-24 14:37:00 · answer #9 · answered by Necromancer 3 · 2⤊ 3⤋
if the facts surrounding the death are suspicious, then I think there would be an investigation.
2007-09-24 14:13:48 · answer #10 · answered by lee 5 · 1⤊ 6⤋