any life insurance gurus out there??

[draboo]

my wife and i are dealing with a life insurance company after her mothers death.heres whats printed on the front page of the policy.:

ACCIDENTAL DEATH BENEFIT PAYABLE DURING THE INITIAL POLICY PERIOD(INITIAL POLICY PERIOD MEANS ALL POLICY YEARS THIS POLICY IS IN FORCE) $______.__

on her death certificate it states that an accidental fall was the initial cause of her death.

will we be eligible or the accidental amount ,which is over double of what the "normal" amount was?? its not a huge sum,but we need every bit we can get. i ve found out the hard way that funerals are NOT cheap!!

(funeral prices,topic of another "rant"thread??)

thanks

brad

If you have a Death Certificate and a Doctor's certificate stating this was a direct result of an accident, the Insurance Company will pay double.

(BTW, I am licenced in Health/Life Insurance)

[Mntsnow]

I just asked my father who sold life and burial insurance for over 40 years and he said that yes if the cause of death was caused from an accident then under the provisions of the policy they would have to pay the double indemnity payout. but he did say to double check to see what your policy considered an accident as not all policies are written alike.

[rubyred]

The death circificate states she died from :accidental fall--Pelvic fracture--acute exsanguination(into pelvic soft tissue) will this mean the accdental fall didnt cause death but the acute exsanguination did so it wasnot due to the fall?

Yes, it looks like it should work. But insurance companies are very fussy with paperwork so be sure that the death Certificate clearly states the cause of death as being accidental and be sure to take a certificate from the doctor/hospital clearly stating that the accidental fall resulted in the death.

Very sorry to hear all this and my condolences.

[draboo]

thanks,shahani

Ruby, to address your concern, acute exsanguination isn't a cause, it's a result. You don't simply spill your blood out of your body for no reason - something causes it. The accidental fall caused a pelvic fracture which caused immediate bleeding. The key is that the cause (fall) was an accident.

You just have to make sure their definition of accidental covers falling in her own home. Some life insurance companies may define some specific events as not being covered. Not always fair, but that's how they operate.

Hope this helps.

Cheers
Mick