Your Minnesota Life Insurance Lawyer Can Help You Obtain Funds as a Beneficiary
After a loved one passes away, most of us assume that it will be easy to recover all funds left to us as beneficiaries under the deceased person’s life insurance policy. However, that’s not always the case. You may need a Minnesota life insurance attorney.
In fact, some dishonest companies may try to circumvent the Minnesota laws designed to protect consumers trying to quickly receive all funds owed. These laws are specifically set forth in Chapters 59A-79A of the 2015 Minnesota Statutes.
If you have had to wait more than 30 days to recover funds as a beneficiary under the insurance policy of a relative or friend, you should immediately contact your attorney for help. Our office can usually help you by raising one or more of the following arguments so that the funds will be immediately released.
Grounds for Contesting a Life Insurance Company’s Refusal to Pay Out a Lawful Claim
- Unjustified delay when all required paperwork was sent in on a timely basis. In general, insurance companies tend to pay beneficiaries within 30 – 60 days of receiving all required paperwork that’s been signed and dated. Please be aware that these companies must also add interest to the sum owing to each beneficiary from the date of the insured party’s death forward. Furthermore, that rate of interest must increase after 60 days have passed without payment;
- The company was incorrect when it said that false information was supplied by the insured – either related to health or age. Most companies require people applying for life insurance to answer some basic age and health-related questions before providing them with a policy. Others even require applicants to undergo new medical exams and to have their doctors’ offices provide copies of all records – or else they just require the applicant’s current doctor to send in copies of all records. If the covered person lied about his/her age – or failed to disclose such things as being a prior cancer patient, a smoker – or having some other illness or condition specifically inquired about by the insurer – beneficiaries can be barred from recovery. This is one reason why a death certificate has to set forth the cause(s) of death. (However, most claims are paid out within 30 days of receiving all required paperwork);
- The policy benefits must be paid if the last payment on the premiums was reasonably current. If the deceased had kept the payments current within about 30 days of the last due date, your Minnesota insurance attorney should be able to recover all benefits owed to you. In fact, if a claim is made during this 30-day time period, the company that issued the policy is not allowed to deny coverage under Minnesota law;
- The insured person’s life insurance company has gone out of business or is insolvent. Fortunately, all life insurance policies that have been kept current (all premiums paid up until the insured’s time of death) are protected or “backed” by Minnesota’s Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association. This means that your attorney can petition that association on your behalf to obtain payment on funds owed to you. While the entire sum owed may not be available, a large portion of it can often be reached.
Of course, if you’re trying to recover under a death benefit, the maximum you can recover from this association is $300,000. If you’re seeking a “cash surrender” portion of the amount of equity built up in the policy – prior to the insured’s death, a lower sum of money can usually be obtained.
The above are examples of recovery of life insurance for a beneficiary. If the above does not address your immediate concerns, you should contact an attorney. It is important to realize that not every case is the same and an attorney should be consulted with.
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Minnesota Life Insurance Lawyer
Contact the Flanders Law Firm today. The firm offers free consultations to all potential clients. Call (612) 424-0398.