Our clients, the widow and the three children of the insured, were devastated when their life insurance claim was denied after the sudden death of their father and husband. They called us in despair, because both the death and the denial were completely unexpected.

The insured had a $1 million policy that had been in effect for less than 2 years at the time the insured died. The insurance company denied the claim based on a lapse. The beneficiaries were informed that the insured failed to make a monthly premium payment and the policy had lapsed before he died. Therefore, the company claimed, there was no coverage at the time of his death. This was a complete shock for his surviving spouse, who never received any notices from the insurance company about the impending lapse.

Our firm started working on the case immediately. Our life insurance attorneys soon discovered that the lapse should not have occurred and that the insurance company wrongfully denied the claim based on lapse. After we informed the insurance company of the possible breach, the insurer started a contestability investigation. A contestability investigation is conducted when the policy is active, but is less than 2 years old at the time of death. The contestability check was conducted by a third party investigative firm. Our life insurance lawyers oversaw the investigation and worked relentlessly at protecting the clients’ interests.

Finally, several months later, the insurance company paid the claim. The beneficiaries received the full policy amount plus interest without the stress and expense of litigation.