Our client’s brother died in a tragic accident – a truck rollover where the insured was the driver. He had accidental death coverage through Advance Insurance Company of Kansas. Advance denied our client’s AD&D claim based on the intoxication exclusion in the ADD policy. The life insurance exclusion stated, “No benefit will be paid for a loss caused by or contributed to by: the injured person’s intoxication. Intoxication means that blood alcohol content or the results of other means of testing alcohol level, meet or exceed the legal presumption of intoxication as defined in the jurisdiction in which the accident occurs…” He came to our law firm for help.
After our ADD attorneys conducted an independent investigation of the accident, it was determined that the truck rollover was caused by a tire blowout and not the insured’s intoxication. It was determined that even a sober driver would not have survived the accident. In addition, our accidental death claim attorney challenged the manner in which the blood sample was taken from the decedent. We appealed the denial of AD&D benefits internally and Advance reversed its denial on appeal. The investigation and the appeal process took less than 2 months and our client was able to receive his ADD benefits with interest.
