While some claims are straight-forward and get paid immediately there are others that are not. For various reasons many claims are investigated under the Contestability clause of the policy. This clause states that during the first two years of a policy, if the insured dies, the insurance company can investigate before paying the claim. What they investigate is the information given by the applicant. This includes medical conditions, financial information, and cause of death. In all Contestable instances the insurance company is looking for reasons they can deny the death claim. Prudential Life is no different.

If you have a death claim with Prudential Life and need help getting the claim paid, contact the Center for Life Insurance Disputes at 888-428-4868. We have collected over $35 million for our clients.

While some claims are straight-forward and get paid immediately there are others that are not. For various reasons many claims are investigated under the Contestability clause of the policy. This clause states that during the first two years of a policy, if the insured dies, the insurance company can investigate before paying the claim. What they investigate is the information given by the applicant. This includes medical conditions, financial information, and cause of death. In all Contestable instances the insurance company is looking for reasons they can deny the death claim. HSBC Life is no different.

If you have a death claim with HSBC Life and need help getting the claim paid, contact the Center for Life Insurance Disputes at 888-428-4868. We have collected over $35 million for our clients.

While some claims are straight-forward and get paid immediately there are others that are not. For various reasons many claims are investigated under the Contestability clause of the policy. This clause states that during the first two years of a policy, if the insured dies, the insurance company can investigate before paying the claim. What they investigate is the information given by the applicant. This includes medical conditions, financial information, and cause of death. In all Contestable instances the insurance company is looking for reasons they can deny the death claim. New York Life is no different.

If you have a death claim with New York Life and need help getting the claim paid, contact the Center for Life Insurance Disputes at 888-428-4868. We have collected over $35 million for our clients.

While some claims are straight-forward and get paid immediately there are others that are not. For various reasons many claims are investigated under the Contestability clause of the policy. This clause states that during the first two years of a policy, if the insured dies, the insurance company can investigate before paying the claim. What they investigate is the information given by the applicant. This includes medical conditions, financial information, and cause of death. In all Contestable instances the insurance company is looking for reasons they can deny the death claim. West Coast Life is no different.

If you have a death claim with West Coast Life and need help getting the claim paid, contact the Center for Life Insurance Disputes at 888-428-4868. We have collected over $35 million for our clients.

While some life insurance claims are straight-forward and get paid immediately there are others that are not. For various reasons many claims are investigated under the Contestability clause of the policy. This clause states that during the first two years of a policy, if the insured dies, the insurance company can investigate before paying the claim. What they investigate is the information given by the applicant. This includes medical conditions, financial information, and cause of death. In all Contestable instances the insurance company is looking for reasons they can deny the death claim. ING Life is no different.

If you have a death claim with ING and need help getting the claim paid, contact the Center for Life Insurance Disputes at 888-428-4868. We have collected over $35 million for our clients.

MET Life is one of the largest life insurers in the world. As such they process billions of dollars of life insurance claims. While some claims are straight-forward and get paid immediately there are others that are not. For various reasons many claims are investigated under the Contestability clause of the policy. This clause states that during the first two years of a policy, if the insured dies, the insurance company can investigate before paying the claim. What they investigate is the information given by the applicant. This includes medical conditions, financial information, and cause of death. In all Contestable instances the insurance company is looking for reasons they can deny the death claim. MET Life is no different.

If you have a death claim with MET Life and need help getting the claim paid, contact the Center for Life Insurance Disputes at 888-428-4868. We have collected over $35 million for our clients.

One of our recent concerns has been with life insurance that is sold over the internet without an agent. A benefit of agent advice is making sure the application is completed properly. Often times an applicant does not know exactly what information the insurer is looking for and mistakenly answers a question inaccurately. I’m not talking about lying on an application, I’m referring to misunderstanding what is being asked. Without the input of an agent the applicant is left on his own to answer the questions and may make an answer that can invalidate the policy. Where this happens is when the insured dies and a claim is made, and the policy is “contested”.

Contestability means an insurer can challenge the information given on an application and if it turns out the answers were not exactly correct, the insurer can deny the claim. We have identified several companies where this occurs, but the Globe Life Claims department seems to be especially adept at this.

If you have had a claim denied by Globe Life, or any other insurer, we would like to hear from you? Call us at 888-428-4868.

Regularly I’m asked by clients what they should know before they buy life insurance so they don’t make a mistake. What questions should they be asking their agent? What do they need to know? What are they not being told?

During my twenty-plus years as an agent, broker and regional director I have seen the ways people are misled and the information that they are not told –which likely would make a big difference in their decisions to buy life insurance. I’ve put together a list of some of the things I believe every buyer should know so they can buy with full knowledge (this information will mostly apply to cash value life insurances; i.e. universal life, whole life, variable life and indexed universal life insurance policies).

1. Calling life insurance anything other than life insurance is a violation of insurance code in every US state.

The terms private retirement plan, personal retirement plan, college savings plan, tax-free retirement plan, be your own banker,… are meaningless terms concocted with the intent to deceive someone into buying life insurance while thinking he is buying some sort of special investment.

2. The rate of return projected in an illustration will always be wrong – and you have to plan for this.

Clients and agents alike ask me how I can make such an always-the-case statement. I have been looking at insurance illustrations for over 20 years and illustrations are always created using a level rate of return. Be it 4% or 7% or whatever number is used, it’s the same rate each year. An insurance policy earning the same rate of return each year has never happened and it never will.

3. Policy loans do not go away. They build-up, reduce cash values, reduce death benefits and can trigger massive tax bills.

4. The illustration you are given is not the policy. The policy is the policy.

This is important to understand because in the legal world the policy is the contract you are agreeing to. What you are shown by an agent may not match the policy you are purchasing. Have a third-party review the illustration and policy before you buy it.

5. Borrowing money to pay premiums almost never works as well as an agent represents it will.

I’ve seen proposals to borrow against home equity, accounts receivable, business assets, stock portfolios and others. There are inherent land-mines in these borrowing schemes that can wipe-out good assets. Beware of any proposal to borrow money for the purpose of buying life insurance.

6. You must be given an illustration when you are given the life insurance policy.

This illustration, called the final illustration, is created by the insurance company — not the agent. If this illustration does not match the promises of your agent, do not buy the policy.

7. The fees of a policy will change each year.

Premiums may be set at a fixed amount, but the costs that are deducted from the premium will change each year. Knowing what the fees are can save you a lot of money.

8. After you sign the Policy Delivery Reciept (accepting the policy), you have 10 days to return the policy for a full refund.

If you decide to exercise this right you should call the insurance company, not the agent, so you have recorded proof of your desire to cancel. Don’t wait until day 11.

9. Indexed Universal life is a very complicated policy.

The mechanisms for crediting interest to the cash value, with many caveats and triggers, is such that a policy will never earn the average of the S&P500.

10. Only policies that specifically state a guaranteed death benefit provide guaranteed protection for the lifetime of the insured.

Many people believe that if they pay a certain premium each year their policy will stay in effect until they die. This is not true. If you are buying life insurance solely for the death benefit protection, be sure you buy a policy with a guaranteed death benefit.

While life insurance can be a tremendous financial tool it can also be complicated and confusing. If you are considering the purchase of a large policy and would like to be sure you have all of the facts, please contacts us for a complete analysis of the policy, the funding and the agent. The money you spend with us could save you many thousands of dollars in the future. We offer a fee-only, unbiased analysis of all life insurance policies.

(Search for Lost Life Insurance Policies here)

You are considering buying life insurance. You are a life insurance novice. You are
getting your information from the agent. The agent will earn a substantial
commission if you buy a policy from him. The agent will earn nothing if you do
not buy the policy. How can you be sure you are getting all of the facts about
the policy? You can’t. In this real life scenario the buyer has no objective
expert to advise them of the risks of buying the life insurance.

It’s not to say that all agents lack honesty or integrity, but doesn’t it make sense
to do your homework before you buy an expensive life insurance policy? Below is
just some of what you need to know. For more information and help go to www.cflid.com.

Premiums are not always set in stone. There is great flexibility in how you pay, when
you pay and how long you pay. One common threat is that you may be led to
believe that a set premium, paid for a set time will guarantee future cash
values and death benefits. The reality is that you’re probably just being given
a potential outcome – not a guaranteed outcome.

Fees get bundled together during the sales process but need to be looked at
individually and year by year. If your policy is loaded with fees in year one,
wouldn’t you want to know so you don’t overpay in that year? Many fees go away
or are significantly reduced after a certain number of years. Knowing when this
happens can help you get more benefit with fewer premium dollars.

Cash values are created from premium payments that exceed fees and interest earned
on that excess money. Most insurance projections fail to give a true picture of
how your policy will earn interest and almost always overstate future values.
Don’t wait 20 years to learn that your life insurance policy has substantially
less money in it than you expected.

Ratings can decimate a policies cash values and require ever greater premium payments
in the future. Some ratings are for only a few years and some last throughout
the life of the policy. In either case ratings have a major impact on life
insurance policies.

Taxes are a real threat. These can come in the form of income taxes and or estate
taxes. This is a complicated matter and many life insurance policies are sold
on the basis of solving tax concerns. Know your risks before you buy the policy
so you don’t end up with a huge tax bill down the road.

Life insurance is a complex product. There are many features to a life insurance
policy and each feature can have a significant impact on how the policy
performs. While life insurance can be an excellent product that provides cash,
protection and leverage, it can also be the basis for a major financial
blunder. Don’t buy life insurance without the input of a life insurance expert.
Contact the Center for Life Insurance Disputes at 888-428-4868.

Buying life insurance is a little like getting married, it’s a long term commitment
for the buyer. Most cash value life insurance policies require years of premium
payments and have steep penalties for cashing out within the first 10 to 15
years. The way you buy the policy will likely be through an agent, but the
commitment to the policy premium will rest solely on the buyer. So don’t you
want to know who you’re buying from before you make that commitment?

To get information about an insurance agent you can go to the agent’s State
Insurance Department and do a search. But to really know who you’re dealing
with you need to go deeper. Criminal records, litigation, bankruptcy… these are
what a buyer really should want to know. If your agent has been sued by several
clients for fraud, wouldn’t you like to know before you let him or her sell you
a policy? Go to http://cflid.com . They do
extensive background searches on insurance agents.