Life Insurance Claims Denial Attorneys

New York and New Jersey

Many people choose to take the well-being of their family's future in account and purchase a life insurance policy. A life insurance policy is a contract between the policyholder and the life insurance company, stating that if the policyholder passes away, the life insurance company will pay their beneficiaries a certain amount of money.

Part of the life insurance policy, and therefore the life insurance contract, is the life insurance application. When a person applies for life insurance, the life insurance company reviews the application and determines if they will insure them, and for how much their life will be insured.

If a person is approved for life insurance, the insurance company has a period of contestability to review your application and deny the life insurance policy. Although the length of contestability differs from state to state, during this period, the insurance company has the ability to investigate and deny the life insurance based on any "material misrepresentations."

Material misrepresentations are any discrepancies, fallacies, or distortions that would have caused the life insurance company to deny your life insurance policy had they been known at the time of approval. Material misrepresentations can occur within the:

• Life Insurance Application
• Life Insurance Application for Renewal
• Life Insurance Policy Amendment
• Life Insurance Application for Late Enrollment

Material misrepresentations must be misrepresentations in your life insurance application that are material enough to cause a life insurance company to deny a life insurance claim.

Some common material misrepresentations include:

• Occupation
• Employment History
• Age
• Income
• Tobacco Usage
• Alcohol Usage
• Assets
• Other Life Insurance Policies
• Dangerous Hobbies or Traits

When a person dies while they are still within the contestability period, life insurance companies almost always launch an investigation to determine if the decedent made any material misrepresentations on their life insurance application.If the life insurance company believes that they have found any material misrepresentation, they can deny the life insurance claim made by the surviving loved ones.

In these cases, the law firm of Trief & Olk is able to help you appeal the life insurance claim denial. Often times, a material misrepresentation is debatable, and an experienced life insurance attorney is needed to pressure the life insurance company into paying for the life insurance claim.

Our experienced life insurance lawyers will work hard to get you the life insurance proceeds you deserve. Insurance companies are often willing to settle out of court, and we have the litigation experience to take your case to trial if needed.

Life insurance denial is a contractual problem that requires an attorney that is familiar with insurance law, life insurance applications, and life insurance policies. We have negotiated or litigated many different life insurance denial cases against life insurance companies such as:

• John Hancock
• National Western
• New York Life
• Met Life
• Lincoln
• Banker's Life

Contact the life insurance attorneys at Trief & Olk today if you have been denied your life insurance claim.