Was Your Protective Life Insurance Claim Denied?
Call Gianelli & Morris Today to Get the Benefits You Deserve
Protective Life Insurance Company, like other major life insurance companies, makes its money by collecting premiums. They do not make money by paying out on claims. At Gianelli & Morris, we make sure life insurance companies are forced to follow the guarantees in their policies and their duties under the law, regardless of their priorities. We do not let life insurers get away with denying coverage for unjustified or unlawful reasons.
If your life insurance claim was denied by Protective, we’ll help you fight back. Call the insurance denial law firm Gianelli & Morris for advice and representation. We’ll carefully review your policy, consider the reasons offered for your claim rejection, and make sure that your benefits have not been unlawfully withheld. If there is anything untoward, we’ll correct the record, appeal the denial, and take your case to court where necessary. We fight for California insurance policyholders and beneficiaries to get the benefits they are due.
Who is Protective?
Protective Life Insurance Company is the primary subsidiary of Protective Life Corporation, a financial services company that sells life insurance, annuities, and other financial products to customers in all 50 states. Protective’s subsidiaries include West Coast Life Insurance Company and MONY Life insurance Company as well as several more operating under the moniker Protective.
As of December 2020, Protective was generating an estimated $6.53 billion annually. Protective sells a number of life insurance products, including 40-year term life. Unlike some other life insurance companies, Protective sells up to $1 million in life insurance coverage without requiring a medical examination. The trade-off, of course, is that Protective will rely on whatever justification necessary to deny life insurance claims. Lowering the barrier to entry makes it easier for Protective to collect more policy premiums; it does not indicate that Protective will actually pay out on those policies.
Protective’s History of Intentional Policy Lapse
One of the principal justifications for claim denial is that the policy lapsed due to non-payment of premiums. Protective is far from the only life insurance company to bank on policyholders getting forgetful as they age or become ill. Protective gets to collect life insurance premium payments for decades, only to cancel the policy just before the insured party actually passes away. California has enacted laws in recent years to prevent this practice, requiring insurance companies to:
- Give notice to policyholders regarding missed premiums
- Give notice in advance of policy termination
- Give policyholders a minimum 60-day grace period to correct missed payments
- In advance of policy lapse, give notice to a person or persons designated by the policyholder (typically a family member or friend, often a beneficiary)
Protective has been sued for letting life insurance policies lapse without providing the proper notice. Recently, the California Supreme Court had to step in to remind Protective of its legal duty to customers. Protective tried, unsuccessfully, to argue that it was not required to follow the new notice and grace period requirements for policies that already existed when the laws were enacted. In August 2021, the California Supreme Court held that Protective could not get around California’s notice requirements, regardless of when the policies were issued. If Protective wants to cancel policies for non-payment of premiums, it better follow the law next time.
The case is a strong illustration of how life insurance companies like Protective will always put profits before people. They want policyholders to forget to pay their premiums at the very end of their lives so that Protective gets to pocket decades of premiums without having to actually pay out benefits.
The case is also a reminder that just because an insurance company says something, that does not make it true. If Protective or another life insurance company has denied your claims for any reason–whether it be based on policy lapse, misstatements in the application, excluded cause of death, or another justification–you do not have to take their word for it. Talk to an experienced life insurance denial attorney to review your case and find out whether you can still collect the benefits you and your family paid for.
Call a Zealous Life Insurance Denial Attorney at Gianelli & Morris After a Protective Life Insurance Claim Denial
If someone you love has passed and your life insurance claim has been denied by Protective or another life insurance company, contact the skilled, committed Los Angeles insurance denial lawyers Gianelli & Morris for a no-cost evaluation of your claim at 213-489-1600.
