Texas Life Insurance Attorneys

Losing a loved one can be overwhelming. A life insurance policy is meant to provide the surviving family members with the financial support they need to move forward. The last thing someone coping with a loss should have to deal with is a life insurance dispute or denial.  If you are faced with a life insurance dispute in the wake of a loved one’s passing, contact The Callahan Law Firm today for a free initial consultation with a Texas life insurance attorney.

What Kinds of Life Insurance Issues Do We Handle?

Life insurance claims can be complex in nature. Some of the life insurance claim issues we handle include:

Insurance Beneficiary Disputes and Interpleaders: Sometimes, there is a dispute on who the beneficiary of a policy is. This can happen when the beneficiary designation was changed close to the date of death, when the insured attempted to name a beneficiary but was not able to do so, or when multiple parties claim they are the rightful beneficiary.

When multiple people claim to be the rightful beneficiary to a life insurance policy, the insurance company usually will not attempt to determine who is the rightful beneficiary because paying the wrong claimant can result in a lawsuit against them. Instead, the insurance company will likely file an interpleader.

An interpleader is a type of civil lawsuit that allows two (or more) contesting beneficiaries to litigate their insurance dispute. The insurance company will send the life insurance policy funds to the court and allow the court to decide who is the rightful beneficiary. The court will then determine – through summary judgment or trial – who should receive the money.  Having an attorney on your side who is experienced with interpleader procedures is critical to succeeding with your claim

Bad Faith Insurance Claim Denials: Generally, insurance companies do not want to pay claims. Sometimes, the insurance company may deny your claim with what is called “bad faith,” or the failure to promptly pay a claim that is owed. Some of the reasons for a life insurance claim to be denied can include:

– Missed payments,

– Missing information on the application,

– Inaccurate information on the application,

– Policy exclusions, such as a suicide exclusion, an illegal drug exclusion, use of alcohol exclusion, sickness exclusion, or other exclusions,

– Competing beneficiaries,

– Failure to reinstate,

– Failure to convert a group policy to an individual policy, and/or,

– The deceased passed away in a foreign country.

An experienced life insurance attorney can review the policy and the denial to determine if the denial was proper.  Insurance companies will search for things within the applications or policy language to use as a reason to deny the claim. For example, an insurance company might deny an accidental death policy claim because the death was not caused by an accident or was caused by a condition excluded by the language in the policy.

They may also focus on extraneous terms in attempt to rescind a life insurance policy on the grounds that some detail was left out of the application by the insured.  This is called material misrepresentation. Insurance companies do this because they know that most people are not aware of the law and will simply assume the insurance company must be right in its decision.  As a result, all too many people do not fight the insurance claim denial and the insurance company keeps the money.

What Can The Callahan Law Firm Do to Help You With Your Life Insurance Claim?

Has your life insurance claim been delayed or denied?  Have you received notice that the life insurance company is interpleading your policy benefits with a court?  If you are having issues with a life insurance claim, contact The Callahan Law Firm today to speak with a Texas life insurance attorney. Our Life Insurance Lawyers have been successfully representing people with insurance disputes for over 25 years. Give us a call at 713-224-9000 to speak with one of our attorneys, or fill out our Contact Form so that we can respond to your inquiry.