| Life insurance companies make a habit of denying | | | | the deceased and the Medical Examiner's Report. |
| most accidental death benefit claims. Accidental death | | | | Once an accidental death claim is made the |
| benefit insurance provides a cash payment to the | | | | investigator immediately starts looking for ways to |
| insured's beneficiary when the insured dies, within a | | | | link the medical cause of death to a medical condition |
| predefined timeframe, from an accident. An accident | | | | that existed while the insured was alive - even if the |
| can be anything from a car crash to falling down. | | | | insured did not know one existed. The unfairness of |
| Once a claim has been filed the insurance company's | | | | this post-death investigation is that it is rarely |
| Claims department opens an investigation. This is | | | | conclusive, but it's used as the common reason for a |
| standard practice for all accidental death benefit | | | | claim denial. It is like the proverbial question of which |
| claims. The Claims department will investigate the | | | | came first, the chicken or the egg. The insurance |
| cause of death. They will review the Certified Death | | | | companies take advantage of the fact that it is |
| Certificate, the Medical Examiner's Report and the | | | | impossible to prove whether a past event or the |
| complete health records of the deceased. Logic | | | | accident triggered a bodily reaction that ended in |
| would dictate that the insurer would investigate the | | | | death. Their approach seems to be that if the |
| insured before they offer the coverage and accept | | | | beneficiary cannot disprove something, then how can |
| premium payments, but they don't. Every claim is | | | | they argue the matter? Thereby, most accidental |
| investigated. | | | | death benefit claims are denied. |
| Accidental death policies have many exclusions and | | | | Naturally, insurance companies will argue that they |
| always have the stipulation that the death must be | | | | never intend to deny valid accidental death claims. But |
| the result of an accident. What surprises most | | | | when they offer one million dollars of coverage for |
| beneficiaries of accidental death benefit policies is | | | | only eight dollars per month, they cannot afford to |
| that even when the Certified Death Certificate | | | | pay very many claims or they will be out of business. |
| states the cause of death as "accidental", the claim | | | | Our success in getting accidental death benefit claims |
| will likely be denied. What accompanies the death | | | | paid is due, in large part, to our ability to anticipate |
| certificate is the Medical Report. This identifies the | | | | the likely reasons a claim will be denied and then to |
| cause of death in medical terms. While death from | | | | eliminate those possibilities before they happen. If |
| falling may be an accident on the Death Certificate, it | | | | you have an accidental death benefit claim we |
| may be defined as an aneurism on the Medical | | | | suggest you be as prepared as possible before you |
| Report. The denial of most accidental death claims is | | | | submit your claim so you won't be denied the money |
| due to a common link between the health history of | | | | your loved-one intended you to have. |