Delayed Life Insurance Claim Archives - DiGeorge Life Insurance Law

>Beneficiary of a Denied Life Insurance Claim? Discrimination Is Rampant

Posted on January 5, 2022

Are You The Beneficiary of a Life Insurance Policy?

Did your mother or father…or your husband or wife name you as the beneficiary of a life insurance policy? Our loved ones make us the beneficiary of their life insurance to help protect us financially when they die. It is a great comfort for someone to know that they are leaving behind some financial protection.

Unfortunately, life insurance companies have different plans for your money. Once a death claim is filed, life insurance companies will do everything possible to avoid paying the claim. We all understand that life insurance companies make money by collecting premiums and they lose money each time they have to pay out a death claim.

Was Your Life Insurance Claim Denied?

Here’s where things get interesting. How do life insurance companies decide which claims will be paid and which claims will be denied? It’s supposed to be a matter of contract law. Yet, surprisingly, claim denials often have little to do with the underlying contractual liability. In many cases, a life insurance company decides which claims gets paid the same way a mugger in the subway decides who to mug.

If someone looks like they will fight back, then the mugger moves on to someone less likely to fight back. Life insurance companies often do the same thing. You are far more likely to have your life insurance claim be denied if the life insurance company thinks you won’t fight back. To a life insurance company, fighting back means hiring a lawyer.

Life Insurance Denials Are Not Random

The poorer you are, the smaller your policy, the more rural your zip code, your ethnicity, your socio-economic status, age, education, etc. all play a role. Most life insurance companies systematically deny death claims that they know should be paid. Their denial letter is usually preceded by a long delay as the insurance company reviews your claim or gathers more information. They are testing you and they are setting you up for a denial. If your claim isn’t paid within a few weeks, call a lawyer before you get the denial. Life insurance companies use all sorts of smoke and mirrors to convince beneficiaries that policy coverage is no longer in effect and therefore they owe you nothing.

Maybe they explain that there was misrepresentation on the application for insurance. For any contestable policy less than two years old this is the standard response. They will claim that there was false information provided regarding a health question for example. Very often, they flat out make it up. Without the aid of a lawyer, beneficiaries have no way to prove otherwise so they give up and walk away without collecting on a perfectly valid death claim. If a lawyer obtains the insurance company’s files, they often find that there was never any misrepresentation and they are able to get the denial reversed. It’s estimated that more than 90% of all beneficiaries whose death claims are denied simply give up without ever contacting a lawyer. Most beneficiaries think they can’t afford to hire a lawyer; but lawyers will take life insurance cases on a contingency basis so the beneficiary never pays anything unless the lawyer is successful.

When it comes to accidental death and dismemberment claims, insurance companies will often use their own medical experts to dispute the accidental cause of death. The insurance company will claim that the deceased actually died of natural causes rather than as the result of an accident. We see these kinds of shenanigans every day.

Claim Denials Unfairly Target Certain Beneficiaries

The bottom line is that life insurance companies treat some of their customers differently than others. Life insurance companies are trying to deny as many claims as possible and they tend to hand out the majority of those denials to beneficiaries who are least likely to hire a lawyer. It is particularly easy for life insurance companies to deny smaller policies because most life insurance lawyers can’t afford to accept very small cases on a contingency. The beneficiaries eventually give up and the life insurance company avoids paying a completely legitimate claim.

Call A Life Insurance Dispute Lawyer

Here’s the good news. If you are the beneficiary of a denied life insurance claim, there’s a good chance that you can still get your claim paid, but you must contact an experienced life insurance lawyer to help you.

The life insurance policy lawyers at DiGeorge Life Insurance Law are nationally known for our skillful and aggressive representation of our beneficiary clients. The life insurance companies certainly know who we are. We only handle life insurance cases and we are highly experienced with every cause of death or scenario leading to a denial. Life insurance denials fit patterns that an experienced life insurance lawyer can immediately recognize and dismantle. So, if you have been denied a life insurance claim, don’t just walk away. You can get that denial reversed. Remember, you don’t pay the lawyer anything unless the lawyer is able to get your death claim paid. The life insurance policy lawyers at DiGeorge Law are available to you 24/7. Let us know how we can help.

>Life Insurers Ponder How to Underwrite COVID-19 Survivors

Posted on May 3, 2021

Life Insurers Ponder How to Underwrite COVID-19 Survivors

DiGeorge Law Firm cited in National Publication

Call A Life Insurance Lawyer

DiGeorgeLifeInsuranceLaw.com is nationally known for our skillful and aggressive representation of our beneficiary clients. The life insurers certainly know who we are. We only handle life insurance cases and we are highly experienced with every cause of death or scenario leading to a denial. Life insurance denials fit patterns that an experienced life insurance lawyer can immediately recognize and dismantle. So, if you have been denied a life insurance claim, don’t just walk away. You can get that denial reversed. Remember, you don’t pay the lawyer anything unless the lawyer is able to get your death claim paid.

The DiGeorge Life Insurance Law Firm can answer your questions about life insurance beneficiary rules and help guide you through the process of filing a successful insurance claim. We are here to help, so please email or call us any time @ 800-210-5397.

>How To Win A Denied Accidental Death Life Insurance Claim

Posted on April 13, 2021

At the DiGeorge Life Insurance Law Firm, we see all kinds of interesting cases from every state in the country. The first step to winning a denied accidental death (AD&D) life insurance claim is to hire the right law firm so do your research. Bigger does not mean better. There are some giant law firms that have lots of commercials on TV; but that does not mean they are better at winning denied life insurance claims. Think of two fishing boats. One boat is a beautiful sport fishing yacht and game fish are line hooked and reeled-in, one at a time. The other fishing boat is a giant trawler that lays out miles of net. It scours everything from the ocean keeping a few and discarding the rest. Now imagine that those big firms are like that factory fishing boat. Chances are good that unless your case is a lay-up, they are going to throw it back into the ocean. They keep the easy, quick to pay cases and discard the rest.

Find a firm that knows how to win the hard ones! The DiGeorge Firm wins the tough ones. We win many previously denied accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) claims. We win many cases involving murder and homicide. We win cases where the coroner got the cause of death wrong.

When the life insurance companies see an appeal come from the life insurance policy lawyers at DiGeorge Life Insurance Law, they know we aren’t just throwing mud at the wall. Contact us anytime, day or night for a completely free consultation. Remember, we don’t get a penny unless we win.

>Accidental Fentanyl Overdose or Murder?

Posted on January 18, 2021

When It’s Murder

Intentional Fentanyl Poisoning Is America’s Newest Murder Weapon

When it comes to destroying lives and families, fentanyl ranks at the top. Fentanyl is 50 times stronger than heroin. A tiny amount slipped into a cup of coffee will kill an unsuspecting victim within minutes. Sadly, record amounts of fentanyl is flooding into every city in America. Drug dealers add fentanyl to almost everything they sell. A shocking percentage of our denied accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) cases are fentanyl related overdoses. Since the death certificate typically states that the cause of death was an “accidental overdose”, these accidental death life insurance claims are denied. Many of these denials can be reversed when appealed. How To Win A Denied Life Insurance Claim

Many accidental overdoses are actually homicides

Hidden underneath the huge numbers of fentanyl related cases is a subset of cases where the fentanyl was given to someone intentionally. These people never had an intent to take any drug. The fentanyl was given to kill them. Fentanyl is a very inexpensive and easy way to kill someone without drawing unwanted attention. The bad people in this world already know that the police don’t have the resources to investigate drug overdose cases. When it comes to fentanyl deaths, there’s a built-in prejudice, if not an actual presumption, that the victim knowingly took fentanyl. In many cases, however, the victims were told that the fentanyl was another drug such as ecstasy (MDNA), cocaine or oxycodone. In the western United States, especially in California and Arizona, everyone has heard of “Mexican Oxy”. People think they are taking a real Oxycodone tablet, but it is a fentanyl knock-off. These unsuspecting victims fall asleep and die. In this post, however, I am referring specifically to those persons who were murdered with fentanyl. No accident involved. Straight up intentional murder. Denied Accidental Death Claims

Fentanyl Murders Are Soaring

With a fentanyl overdose there’s literally no smoking gun. There is typically just a 911 call reporting that someone is unconscious. There’s no 911 call with someone screaming “shots fired” or yelling “send the police”. There’s never any sign of a struggle or violence. We are seeing cases where the victim was actually targeted, lured and poisoned with the intent to murder them. Auto theft rings and many others are using fentanyl instead of guns. For every murder you hear about on the news involving a gun, I suspect there are at least as many more unreported murders committed using fentanyl. Fentanyl it seems is becoming America’s murder weapon of choice. The people who die from fentanyl will never be on the news and virtually none of the fentanyl overdose deaths will ever be investigated. We closely investigate these cases and sometimes it isn’t an accidental overdose. It’s murder. If you have had a loved one who died from fentanyl and your claim has been denied, don’t hesitate to call or send us an email today.

>Life Insurance Denied Because of Misrepresentation

Posted on October 8, 2020

How To Win A Denied Life Insurance Claim It is estimated that at least two thirds of all life insurance is never paid to the policy beneficiary. So chances are pretty good that if you are reading this, you are among the approximately 70% of life insurance beneficiaries who have received a denial letter from their life insurance company. Misrepresentation on the application for life insurance is the most common way to deny a death claim.

Life Insurance Beneficiary Rules

The Application For Insurance is the first place the insurance company will look to escape its responsibility to pay the policy’s death benefits. Usually they zero in on the answers to one of the medical questions. They will obtain your loved one’s medical records and comb through them looking for any possible discrepancies. Some common “easy outs” include items like an entry for COPD or evidence of obesity or any prior drug or alcohol treatment. The first thing to know is that even after getting a denial for an inaccurate answer on the application, these are often winnable cases. These cases are very fact specific and require the skill of an experienced life insurance attorney. If you’ve been denied there’s no downside to letting an experienced life insurance attorney review your case. Feel free to contact the Life Insurance Recovery Team at DiGeorge Law.

>Denied Death Benefit Claims & Denied Life Insurance Claims

Posted on March 26, 2020

There are signs that we are finally starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel. In a few more weeks, the worst will hopefully be behind us, but the economic damage will have been done. Many beneficiaries are fighting with life insurance companies over recently denied death benefit claims.

DiGeorge Life Insurance Law can get wrongfully denied life claims paid. We love turning our clients into winners. Most insurance companies won’t take you seriously. They have no choice but to take us seriously! We are available 24/7 so contact us now.

Call A Life Insurance Lawyer

DiGeorgeLifeInsuranceLaw.com is nationally known for our skillful and aggressive representation of our beneficiary clients. The life insurance companies certainly know who we are. We only handle life insurance cases and we are highly experienced with every cause of death or scenario leading to a denial. Life insurance denials fit patterns that an experienced life insurance lawyer can immediately recognize and dismantle. So, if you have been denied a life insurance claim, don’t just walk away. You can get that denial reversed. Remember, you don’t pay the lawyer anything unless the lawyer is able to get your death claim paid. The team at DiGeorge Law is available to you 24/7. Let us know how we can help?

>Theories of Recovery and Denied Life Insurance Claims

Posted on August 15, 2016

How To Win A Denied Life Insurance Claim

DiGeorge Life Insurance Law has successfully handled cases where our client had initially used another law firm to fight a denied life insurance claim only for their firm to also be denied. If their attorney is not able to get a policy paid, most people give up and stop pursuing the claim. Although it can be disheartening to receive repeated denials on a life insurance policy that should be paid, persistence often does pay off. There are many cases where getting a second opinion is the first step in getting a denial overturned.

In reviewing cases where another law firm had been hired by the client, we often see that the first attorney framed their legal argument incorrectly or failed to draw the correct inferences from subtle bits of information. In demanding that the policy be paid they did not put forth a winning “theory of recovery”.

Establishing the correct theory of recovery is everything when it comes to getting a life policy paid. Obviously there are many life insurance claims that are rightfully denied. This blog, however, is referring specifically to those clients that have legitimate claims, but are still unable to get the policy paid. These clients have good cases; and, as the beneficiary, they are entitled to the policy being paid. Nevertheless, for any of a thousand possible reasons, the life insurance company is refusing to pay.

Establishing a winning theory of recovery means leaving the life insurance company no wiggle room to avoid its contractual liability to pay the claim. On the other hand, demanding payment based upon the wrong theory of recovery almost always guarantees a denial. In fact, insurance company claim agents are thrilled when the client or their attorney asserts the wrong theory of recovery because they will respond to the argument that’s put forth and avoid addressing the circumstances that would establish their legal liability to pay. If you, or your attorney, do not clearly establish the insurance company’s legal liability to pay the claim, the life insurance company is not going to do it for you.

Life Insurance Lapse

Many life insurance cases turn on key dates. Did a policy lapse for nonpayment? Was a lapse notice sent? Was a payment or partial payment made and accepted before the grace period expired? When did the grace period expire? We recently saw a case where there was a pending lapse for nonpayment and then a payment was made and accepted by the insurance company.

Based on the facts of the case, there were two potential dates that could have been argued as being the expiration date of the grace period. The attorney involved wrote a letter demanding payment from the insurance company, but instead of framing his legal argument on one of the two possible dates, he picked a third date as the expiration of the grace period. Unfortunately, there was no way this third date could have been legally correct and the insurance company promptly sent the lawyer another denial on a case that should have been paid.

When someone becomes aware that they are the beneficiary of a life insurance policy, they usually try to file the claim directly with the life insurance company. It seems simple enough, but it is amazing how many things can and do go wrong as the insurance company examines every possible way out of the contract. An alarming number of completely legitimate life insurance policies are never paid out. Good data is hard to find, but it is believed that the majority of term life policies are never paid. It’s not difficult to understand that the life insurance companies will look for every possible opportunity to avoid paying out the policy.

Life insurance policy lawyers

If you run into trouble getting a claim paid, discuss your situation with an attorney who understands the nuances of life insurance practice. Even a good attorney can easily get tripped up if they don’t have significant experience looking at these cases. If you used an attorney who was unsuccessful, we recommend that you let another lawyer review your file. It can’t hurt to get a second opinion. It is possible that you really did have a good case, but the theory of recovery was wrong.

>Collecting Denied Life Insurance Claims – It’s All In Your “Theory of Recovery”

Posted on March 25, 2014

The DiGeorge Life Insurance Law Firm (www.DiGeorgeLifeInsuranceLaw.com) has successfully handled cases where a client has initially used another law firm to fight a denied life insurance claim without success. If one attorney is not able to get a policy paid, most people give up and stop pursuing their claim. Although it can be disheartening to receive repeated denials on a life insurance policy that should be paid, persistence often does pay off. In many cases, getting a second opinion is the first step in getting a denial overturned.

In reviewing cases where other law firms have made efforts to collect a denied insurance policy, we have seen attorneys (who perhaps do not practice exclusively or regularly in this particular area of law) frame their legal arguments incorrectly, or fail to draw the correct inferences from subtle bits of information. It is critical that an attorney’s demand to issue policy proceeds put forth a winning “theory of recovery”.

Establishing the correct theory of recovery is everything when it comes to getting a life policy paid. Obviously there are many life insurance claims that are rightfully denied. This blog, however, is referring specifically to those clients that have legitimate claims, but are still unable to collect the policy proceeds. These clients have good cases; nevertheless, for any number of possible reasons, the life insurance company has refused to pay timely, in full, or at all.

Theory of recovery

Establishing a winning theory of recovery means leaving the life insurance company no “wiggle room” to avoid its contractual liability to the beneficiary. On the other hand, demanding payment based upon the wrong theory of recovery almost always guarantees a reaffirmed denial. In fact, insurance company claim agents are thrilled when the client or their attorney asserts the wrong theory of recovery because they will respond to the argument that’s put forth only, rather than addressing the circumstances that would establish their legal liability to pay. If you or your attorney do not clearly establish the insurance company’s legal liability to pay the claim, the life insurance company won’t either…

For example, many life insurance cases turn on key dates. Did a policy lapse for nonpayment? Was a lapse notice sent? Was a payment or partial payment made and accepted before the grace period expired? When did the grace period expire? I was recently contacted about a case involving a pending lapse for nonpayment, where a late payment was made and accepted after the applicable grace period expired. Based on the facts of the case, there were two potential dates that could have been argued as the final date for payment.

An attorney wrote a letter demanding payment from the insurance company, but instead of raising attention to the more favorable of two possible dates, he incorrectly argued the application of an incorrect, third date of expiration. Unfortunately, the attorney did not regularly practice life insurance law, and his mistake of the law’s application prompted the insurance company to reissue a denial which is very possibly illegitimate. There is no question that insurance companies must choose their battles wisely, and a weak or incorrect legal argument will fail to get the attention of defense counsel.

When someone becomes aware that they are the beneficiary of a life insurance policy, or that that their claim has been denied, he or she will usually try to fight the insurance company alone. After a loss and during times of suffering, we expect our insurance companies to honor their obligations, and we trust that our personal stories will be compelling enough to achieve the reversal of a life insurance claim denial.

An alarming number of completely legitimate life insurance policies are never paid out, however, and to the insurance company, yours is just one more of many sad stories. Good data is hard to find, but it is estimated that tens of thousands of life insurance claims are denied each year, and that the majority of term life policies are never paid. If life insurance companies can find an opportunity to avoid paying out, it will be taken. Without an experienced life insurance lawyer to present a beneficiary’s best legal argument, forcing the insurance company to defend its grounds for dispute, the rightful beneficiary may have no choice but to accept the an illegitimate claim denial, letting the insurance company automatically win.

Life insurance dispute lawyers at DiGeorge Law

If you run into trouble getting a claim paid, discuss your situation with an attorney who thoroughly understands the nuances of life insurance law. Even a good attorney can easily get tripped up if they don’t have significant experience with these cases. If you previously used a lawyer who was unsuccessful in collecting your insurance benefits, especially if a law suit has never been filed, we recommend that you let another lawyer review your potential case.

It is possible that you really do have a valid claim, but the theory of recovery is wrong or not properly supported. Therefore, every victim of a denied insurance claim, or any person with a legal matter, should seek a second or even third opinion with regard to their case before giving up.

The DiGeorge Life Insurance Law Firm offers free consultations on all delayed or denied insurance claims. Please visit our website or contact us by phone or email for additional information on how we may be able to help collect your delayed or denied life insurance claim.

>How To Hire A Life Insurance Attorney

Posted on July 21, 2013

If you are reading this blog post, you are most likely searching for an experienced life insurance lawyer to handle either a long delayed or outright denied insurance claim. Perhaps you have received a life insurance death claim benefit denial or you are concerned that you are going to be denied. Life insurance companies often delay before giving a denial. If you are being ignored or given an endless run-a-round by an insurance company, its time to get a lawyer. Since our practice is 100% dedicated to representing beneficiaries of delayed and denied life insurance claims, this blog will offer a few notes of caution when seeking an insurance attorney.

Life Insurance Policy Lawyers

For a highly specialized field like life insurance claims, doing a Google search is usually the only way to find an attorney qualified to handle your case. I cannot stress enough how important it is to get the right advocate in your corner. Every insurance contract is different. Every state has different laws. Insurance practice is definitely not a “one size fits all” kind of thing. Your goal has to be to hire the best lawyer or firm possible. If an insurance company knows that your lawyer doesn’t litigate his or her cases (and they will know), it is very unlikely to pay regardless of how strong your facts may be.

Most denied life insurance cases are very tricky cases that could easily go one way or the other. There is no question that picking the right legal representation is often the only difference between winning and losing. Most importantly, make sure that you speak to two or three different firms before making such an important decision. The life insurance policy lawyers at DiGeorge Life Insurance Law are always available to help you. You can email or call us any time.