WAS YOUR NATIONWIDE LIFE INSURANCE CLAIM DENIED?
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We’re all familiar with Nationwide’s advertising campaign. According to Nationwide, they’re “on your side.” Unfortunately, catchy slogans are not reality. Nationwide, like other large insurance companies, cares about one thing: profits. Far from being on your side, Nationwide and other life insurance companies will sometimes look for any reason to deny your life insurance claims, whether that reason is legitimate or fabricated. If you’ve had a life insurance claim denied by Nationwide, you are not alone. The life insurance denial lawyers at Gianelli & Morris are here to help.
Why Does Nationwide Deny Life Insurance Claims?
At Gianelli & Morris, we’re familiar with all of Nationwide’s moves and tricks. We know why life insurance companies deny claims, and we know when they are bending or breaking the law. We’ll help you fight back against wrongful insurance denials for any reason, regardless of whether Nationwide claims they were justified. Some of the most common reasons for denying a life insurance claim include the following:
Policy Lapse
Insurance companies love to terminate policies for non-payment of premiums. If you forget to pay your premium, or if your loved one forgets to pay theirs, the policy may lapse or be terminated. Unfortunately, policy lapse is more likely to occur when a policyholder is injured, ill, or elderly–precisely when the policy is needed the most.
Your life insurance denial attorney will help you ensure that a policy was not allowed to lapse unlawfully. The insurance company has a legal obligation to notify not only the policyholder about a potential policy lapse but also any parties designated to receive such notice–typically a family member or other beneficiary. If Nationwide terminated your policy without giving proper notice, and without giving the policyholder a proper grace period of at least 60 days to correct the missed payments, the policy lapse might be invalid.
Misstatements in the Application
Nationwide and other insurance companies may “rescind” a policy if there were material misstatements in the original or reinstatement application. Rescission means that the insurer is treating the policy as if it were never valid; you’ll get your premiums back, but if coverage was triggered, the claim will be denied.
First of all, rescission is only permitted if there is a “material misstatement” in the application. “Material” means something important, such as a misstatement about the applicant’s age or medical history, rather than something insignificant like a mistyped address. Additionally, rescission is only possible within the first two years of the policy’s activation or reinstatement; after two years, the insurer has no right to rescind the policy, regardless of what was stated in the application. If Nationwide rescinded your policy for improper reasons, or if they did so outside of the two-year “contestability period,” we’ll help you get the benefits you are owed.
Lack of Evidence
Many life insurance claims are denied simply due to a lack of evidence submitted with the claim. To support your claim for life insurance, you’ll need to provide not only proof of death (such as a death certificate or coroner’s report) but also proof of how the death occurred, such as a police report and a medical examiner’s report. Many life insurance denials can be overcome simply by supplementing the record with additional evidence.
Excluded Cause of Death
Nationwide might also deny claims based on an excluded cause of death. Many policies, for example, exclude coverage for criminal activities, for death caused by certain pre-existing conditions, or for suicide within a certain number of years after the policy goes into effect.
Just because Nationwide asserts a death was covered by a policy exclusion, however, does not make it so. At Gianelli & Morris, our insurance denial legal team will conduct a full investigation of the circumstance of your loved one’s death and carefully examine the policy language. Nationwide might assert that the death was excluded, but they may have the facts wrong or they may be stretching their own policy language. We’ll make sure you get the coverage you are due.
Call Gianelli & Morris After a Life Insurance Claim Denial by Nationwide
If someone you love has passed and your life insurance claim has been denied by Nationwide or another California life insurance company, contact the thorough and effective Los Angeles insurance denial lawyers Gianelli & Morris for a no-cost evaluation of your claim at 213-489-1600.
