How to File a Life Insurance Claim with New York Life
Life insurance claims are complicated and can cause a lot of frustration. Insurers don’t do a good job of communication. There’s very little written communication from a life insurance company about a claim and trying to get information by phone is always frustrating. Many beneficiaries are left to wait on the phone for long hold times only to be rerouted to someone in a call center who knows nothing about life insurance claims. Here we explain how to file a life insurance claim with New York Life, what to expect, and how to get prepared so your life insurance claim is paid quickly.
Ultimately, if your claim is delayed or denied, we’re your best resource to get the claim paid.
The claim process doesn’t officially start until New York Life is notified and they review their file for the policy to confirm it was in good standing on the date the insured died. Only after this will New York Life send claim forms to the beneficiary.
Some common reasons a policy wouldn’t be in good standing are if premiums were not paid, the cash value was depleted, and loans against the policy exceeded the death benefit. If none of these occurred, the next thing to be aware of is the contestability clause.
The contestability clause states that if the policy is within the first 2 years of issuance or was reinstated within 2 years of death, New York Life can re-examine the policy and possibly deny the claim.
If the policy was in good standing and NOT subject to the contestability review, the claim should be paid without delays according to state Fair Claims regulations.
Free Consultation for all New York Life Claims: 1-888-428-4868
File a Life Insurance Claim with New York Life
- Contact New York Life and inform them of the death. They’ll confirm the policy was active and send you their Claim Form. This will also stop NY Life from billing for premiums.
If they determine the policy was not active on the day the insured died they’ll refuse to provide you with their Claim forms. Just because they say the policy wasn’t active doesn’t mean they’re correct. There are many reasons why the policy may have been active and New York Life doesn’t recognize it initially. Read: Six Reason Your Contestable Life Insurance Policy May Not be Contestable.
- Get an original Final Death Certificate and mail it to New York Life. They will want an original death certificate, not a copy. These can be purchased from the funeral home. If there is an open investigation about the death by Law Enforcement, or if the County Medical Examiner hasn’t finished determining the Cause of Death, the Final Death Certificate won’t be available. Life insurers won’t pay claims without Final Death Certificates.
- New York Life will ask you to return the Policy. We strongly suggest you maintain a copy in the event there’s a dispute over the claim or who is the correct beneficiary. Read: Wrong Beneficiary.
- Submit the Claimant’s Statement. This form asks for information about the beneficiary such as name, address, social security number and the form of payment requested.
The beneficiary must provide a social security or tax payor number. While most death claims are not taxable, an insurer is still responsible for notifying the IRS a claim has been paid.
- Choose the form of payment you want. Depending on the insurance company and the size of the claim, several different payment options are available:
The most common form is a check made out to the beneficiary. Once deposited, most banks will hold funds for 10 days before making them available.
Another option is to be paid with a checking account set up in the name of the beneficiary. The beneficiary is mailed a check book tied to an account immediately funded with the full death claim. There are two benefits to this form of payment: the money is immediately available, and funds in the account earn a much higher interest rate than banks offer.
A third option, rarely chosen, is to receive regular periodic payments until the full claim amount has been paid.
If your claim is approved you’ll receive your payment 7 to 10 days after the final approval.
If your claim is denied you’ll be given a written explanation why it was denied. Usually, the insurer will refund all the premiums that were paid. You can appeal denied death claims, for this we strongly urge you to contact us to be your appeal representative.
Denied life insurance claims are usually from policies that were less than 2 years old when the insured died. For a full explanation of Contestable Life Insurance Investigations please read: Life Insurance Claim Investigation.
File a Group Life Claim with New York Life Group Life Claims Department
Submitting a claim to New York Life for a group life insurance policy is a little different than individual life claims. For a group life claim you’ll need to contact the employer who sponsored the plan and inform them of the death. Ask that they contact the insurer. They’ll have to contact New York Life and confirm the person was employed and the coverage was in effect on the date of death.
You’ll still need a Claim Form, Death Certificate and Claimants Statement, but all information must go thru the employer and New York Life’s Group Life Claims Department.
New York Life Claim forms (click here)
New York Life Claims Department phone number 1-800-225-5695
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