New York Life Insurance Claim Lawyer

Life Insurance Claim Attorney

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Filing a life insurance claim after your loved one passes away isn’t always simple. Once you’ve worked through the system and lodged a claim with the insurance company, there’s still a chance it will be denied.  In many cases, the policyholder assumed the insurance company would honor its agreement and didn’t bother to review the policy with an estate planning attorney.

When your claim is denied, don’t hesitate to contact a life insurance claim attorney. We advise you to take advantage of a free consultation to determine if there is a chance that you can successfully appeal the decision and negotiate with your insurance company. If that option is exhausted, our litigators are experienced in taking on big insurance companies in the court system.

We know that many surviving loved ones are grieving and give up when a claim is denied. That’s a tendency that many big companies bank on when they investigate and reject your claim out of hand. We assure you that pursuing your claim won’t cost you a lot of money upfront. We will carefully review your situation, at no charge to you, and determine if there are grounds present for further pursuit of an appeal or lawsuit.

Life Insurance Claim Attorney

Why would a life insurance company deny an insurance claim when it approved the policy? That’s a question many beneficiaries ask themselves. In certain states, insurance companies have a lengthy time period to investigate and contest a life insurance claim on grounds of factual misrepresentation. For instance, New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts allow for contestability for up to two years after you begin a new policy. Allegations of incorrect information can revolve around the initial application or any of the supplementary documents the policyholder filed after initially signing up for the policy. The company may choose to interpret a statement’s meaning incorrectly, and deny a claim based on that misinterpretation.

We suggest that you seek legal help before going ahead with an appeal of any claim denial. State laws can vary widely and it’s best to consult a life insurance claim attorney who specializes in working with large insurance companies. You may avoid a lengthy lawsuit by consulting with a lawyer, who can leverage years of experience in negotiating with the life insurance company. A professional attorney’s involvement will put you on a level playing field with the company and will ensure that it takes your appeal seriously.

Life Insurance Claim Attorney Services

Since 1987, the law firm of Trief & Olk has provided numerous legal services to a wide variety of clients. If you or a loved one has a legal need, please contact us to find out more specific information about our firm or for a free consultation to discuss how our firm can help to resolve your case. Our law offices can be reached via telephone at (212) 486-6060 or by completing our confidential online form. When you fill out the form, include a detailed and thorough description of your case. We look forward to serving your needs.

 

Life Insurance Ramifications of DNA Sequencing

Prescription Drug Use and Material Misrepresentations

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The rise in prescription drug use in the United States has had a direct impact on life insurance claims.  The Center for Disease Control recently released figures, from May 8, 2013, that indicate that over 22,000 deaths occur from pharmaceutical drugs each year, of which over 16,500 are related to opioid analgesic overdoses.

Standard insurance applications typically include questions such as, “Are you, or any person proposed for insurance, currently taking any medication prescribed by a physician?”  Failing to disclose some medications, particularly ones contributing to an insured’s death, are fairly clear cut material misrepresentations.  However, certain arguments are still available to the policy holder.

For example, Trief & Olk successfully seized upon the aforementioned policy question by highlighting the word “currently.”  In a situation where an insured was prescribed medication which, when taken as directed, would run out prior to the application’s submission, a colorable argument existed that the insured was not “currently” taking any medication.  Using this approach, Trief & Olk was able to secure a settlement on an opiate overdose claim where other firms had previously failed.