Contestable Life Claims

  A contestable life claim occurs when the insured dies within the first 2 years of their life insurance policy issue date. Or within the first 2 years after, a life insurance policy has been reinstated.

  When the beneficiary makes a claim for policy benefits on a contestable life claim the carrier will begin processing the claim, which includes a routine claims investigation. Once the process starts the carrier will send the beneficiary claim forms, an authorization, the death certificate and a request for the original life insurance policy. (Most carriers have contracts with an outside Investigation Firm that gathers all records and information for the investigation) When the beneficiary sends back the completed forms one of the representatives from the Investigation Firm will contact them to obtain authorizations and information in order to begin the investigation. This investigation will take between 8 and 12 weeks. The amount of time this takes depends on the number of records/information to obtain and the responsiveness of their offices just like how APS’s work when your applying for coverage. If the beneficiary sends the necessary paperwork back in a timely fashion as well as provide as much information they can regarding the physicians and medical providers it will move faster. Then these records will be obtained of course from the Investigation Firm to ensure a chain of custody. Remember the client/beneficiary is not charged for this service nor will it be taken out of the death benefit, the carrier pays for it.

  Once all the paperwork has been received, the beneficiary and agent will receive regular written updates regarding the status of the claim. They can also call the claims department to check on the status as well.