Was Your Life Insurance Claim Wrongfully Denied by Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company?
Gianelli & Morris is ready to fight for the compensation you deserve!
The life insurance denial attorneys at Gianelli & Morris have spent decades helping Californians obtain the life insurance benefits they paid for. We know the tricks life insurance companies like Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company use to delay, undervalue, or outright deny claims. We know what evidence they accept as valid proof of a claim, and we know what proof they can’t ignore when trying to deny an otherwise valid claim.
If you’ve been a customer of Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company or any other life insurance company in California and your life insurance claim has been wrongfully denied, you are not alone. The Southern California life insurance claim denial attorneys at Gianelli & Morris are ready to help.
Common Reasons for Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Claim Denial
Northwestern and other life insurance companies will look for any reason under the sun to deny life insurance coverage. They’re in the business of collecting premiums, not paying out benefits. If you’ve been hit with a claim denial by Northwestern, you do not have to take that rejection at face value.
Gianelli & Morris is well-versed in the usual justifications for life insurance claim denial, and we know how to look under the hood to see whether a denial is truly justified. Some of the most common reasons for life insurance claim denials we encounter, and refute, include the following:
Lack of medical evidence. Insurers often deny claims based on insufficient medical evidence. If you can overcome a claim denial by providing additional evidence to demonstrate the cause of death and other factors, we can help. Autopsy reports, medical records, police reports, and other documents can be used to correct any alleged hole in the claim for benefits, and insurers cannot continue to deny valid claims when the record is clear and complete.
Excluded cause of death. Policies may exclude certain causes of death from coverage, including suicide or death during the commission of criminal activity. Often, these restrictions are temporary. Moreover, just because Northwestern says that a cause of death was excluded does not necessarily make it so. You have the right to push back.
Failure to pay premiums. Life insurance companies can terminate a policy based on failure to pay the premiums. However, they must follow the proper procedure to do so. If they failed to provide the proper notice not only to the policyholder but also to other parties designated to receive notice of nonpayment (typically, a beneficiary or caretaker), then the insurer cannot legally terminate the policy. This is something many out-of-state companies get wrong by failing to follow California law in this important area.
Rescission based on errors in the application. Life insurance companies can rescind a policy if there were material omissions or inaccuracies in the original application for coverage. Rescission means the policy is fully invalidated, premiums are refunded, and coverage is denied. Insurers only have the option to rescind a policy within the first two years of coverage, however, and they can do so only for valid a reason. If they try to rescind outside of the rescission period, or if they try to do so based on minor errors rather than material misstatements, then the rescission is not lawful and benefits must be paid.
Call Gianelli & Morris After a Wrongful Insurance Denial by Northwestern Mutual
If someone you love has passed away and your life insurance claim has been denied by Northwestern Mutual or another California life insurance company, contact the seasoned, successful Los Angeles insurance denial lawyers of Gianelli & Morris for a no-cost evaluation of your claim at 213-459-1600.
