My best friend’s grandma’s life insurance won’t pay out

[sunshine27]

Hey everyone! Long story short, my best friend’s mom just found her mom’s (my friends grandma’s) life insurance documents from back in 2005 or something. She passed in 2013 I believe and my best friend was her care taker for some time before her passing away. Naturally, my friend is a beneficiary and is to have been given a hefty chunk of money from the policy but since they have just now found this paperwork (nobody knew the grandmother had a policy and the insurers most def didn’t reach out after her death to let any of the family know), they are saying it’s been too long to collect the money. Is this true? I did a quick google search that said there isn’t a time frame where you have to reach out and ask for the money and it also said they usually try to reach out to the beneficiaries by any means necessary so they can just pay out as it accrues interest or something? I have no idea how any of this works and neither does she. She’s in the process of saving for a house and this was a sudden blessing that quickly turned into disappointment.

 

[tabinek]

@sunshine27 If this is the US that should not be true. The money may have been escheated to the state of issue as unclaimed funds but insurance companies don’t get to keep unclaimed benefits.

There has been a lot of activities on this in almost all states over the last 5-10 years.

Check the state of issues unclaimed funds resource and call the company for clarification as to what happened to the policy. Push for a manager.

 

[sunshine27]

@tabinek Yeah it’s in the US, Arizona specifically. Thank you!

 

[nefertiti]

@sunshine27 Could also try calling Arizona’s department of insurance to better understand what should happen in this type of scenario.

The insurance carrier may not have been able to reach out to anyone since the woman’s death if they themselves were not notified of her death. It stands to reason that they wouldn’t know she had passed if no one in the family knew this policy existed in the first place. Taking that one step further, they may have considered the policy to be lapsed and no longer have a payable benefit for that reason.

Did the company acknowledge the death/have they been provided with proof of death?

 

[sunshine27]

@nefertiti So I guess her oldest sister and mom got some money when she passed in 2013 but nobody knew her and her younger sister were also beneficiaries until yesterday upon finding that paperwork and the insurance people failed to share that info. It’s a complicated situation but I’ll tell her to contact them, thank you!!

 

[harveyg]

@sunshine27 If she was making monthly payments on the premium for the policy, then after she died the monthly payments stopped and the insurance company may have decided that she lapsed on the policy, although they didn't know about her death.

You can file a complaint with the Arizona Insurance Commissioner about this situation and hopefully they will decide to investigate. If you are not satisfied with the results of that investigation, your next step will be to hire a business law attorney who has experience with litigating lawsuits against insurance companies.

Hopefully you will win the full payout but it is possible that one of the outcomes could be that they are limited to only repaying you for the total amount of premiums that were paid in.

 

[sunshine27]

@harveyg So I guess her oldest sister and mom got some money when she passed in 2013 but nobody knew her and her younger sister were also beneficiaries until yesterday upon finding that paperwork and the insurance people failed to share that info. It’s a complicated situation but I’ll tell her to contact them, thank you!!

 

[dmndgirl]

@sunshine27 Three most important detail is this: was the policy in force and in good order at the time of her death?

If the answer is no, then this story will end sadly, unfortunately.

However, if the answer is yes, then you should have the NAIC on your side. I would call the inside company one more time, but if they are being turds, you should call your insurance commissioner on Monday. Looks like the Arizona Dept of Insurance number is (602) 364-3100.

 

[sunshine27]

@dmndgirl So I guess her oldest sister and mom got some money when she passed in 2013 but nobody knew her and her younger sister were also beneficiaries until yesterday upon finding that paperwork and the insurance people failed to share that info. It’s a complicated situation but I’ll tell her to contact them, thank you!!

 

[dmndgirl]

@sunshine27 Is it possible they were listed as "contingent beneficiaries"? Just to make sure we cover every angle.

 

[sunshine27]

@dmndgirl Possibly!! Her mom is going to call and get things straightened out so hopefully there will be a happy ending here.

 

[resjudicata]

@sunshine27 If the eldest sister or mom were the primary theres nothing you can do about it tbh they cashed in the policy and didnt tell you guys