Life insurance investigation cases begin when an indemnified person dies under suspicious circumstances or when the policy value is very high. Life insurance policies always have exceptions to benefit payments regarding particular causes of death. Most often, these might include suicide, pre-existing conditions and illegal actions which might lead to death. When any of these scenarios are suspected to have occurred, the indemnity company will commence a full investigation of the case before any death payment is rendered to the beneficiary. Additionally, large life insurance policy payouts often automatically generate the need for an investigation, since some indemnity companies are not thrilled to provide substantial benefits, unless they absolutely must. If any reason to deny payment can be found, investigators will discover it.
This essay examines the life indemnity investigation industry and provides a shocking look at some of the occurrences that occur within this nefarious sector of the detective vocation.
Life Insurance Investigation Circumstances
Most life insurance companies are ethical and will pay benefits when justly deserved. These corporations know how devastating it is to lose a loved one and sell polices to help cushion the financial blow of such a loss when the time comes. Since death is inevitable, life indemnity companies know that they must pay eventually. However, there are circumstances of death that might render a policy null and void. These circumstances vary from location to location and from policy to policy, but often include one or more of the following non-covered causes of death:
- Death by murder
- Death by suicide
- Death by alcohol
- Death due to negligence
- Death by illicit drugs
- Death on a common carrier
- Death due to “acts of god”
- Death due to daredevil activities (skydiving, motorcycle riding)
- Death by AIDS or other health condition
One of the most common reasons for a death benefit indemnity investigation is when the beneficiary is suspected in playing a direct or indirect role in the causation of the insured’s death. Specific polices might have other reasons for denial of benefits, so all insurance consumers are cautioned to thoroughly read the fine print of any policy before agreeing to buy it.
Life Insurance Scandals
Sometimes, the indemnity company refuses to pay legitimate claims in a reasonable time frame or at all. These cases often make the news headlines, especially when public opinion is sympathetic to the beneficiary. In most cases, this creates an outcry for judicial action and a terrible PR event for the indemnity company. Statistically, very few cases end well for the company, since they will usually be forced to pay and can rarely provide actual evidence of any wrong doing that would make payment unnecessary.
On the other hand, there have been some famous cases where full benefits were paid to beneficiaries and later on, it was discovered that the deceased was killed by the very people who profited from their demise. In a few cases, the indemnity company was able to pursue legal action to rescind payment, but in only a few instances were the companies able to collect the full monetary benefit originally paid. In most cases, the money was already spent and the guilt party locked up, preventing them from working towards repayment of the original claim settlement.
Life Insurance Investigation Facts
Insurance investigation is one of the busiest and most interesting forms of case work. Death investigations for indemnity companies are highly important niche assignments that require expert investigative skills, as well as specialized people skills to handle the sensitive nature of these cases. For investigators with the experience and personal attributes to deal in death indemnity coverage cases, there will always be plenty of work available.
Most detectives in this specialized sector of the investigation arts are not responsible for directly approving or denying claims. Instead, they often work closely with law enforcement and other investigators to access blame for death and decide who will pay benefits or penalties. However, some cases do involve final determinations of payment based exclusively on reports from field investigators and the evidence they have uncovered.
If you are an investigator with insurance experience and are looking for a new field of focus, you might want to consider life insurance work. You can work directly for an indemnity company, for an attorney’s office or independently to acquire these types of fascinating cases. For more information, contact your local private detective organization and inquire about opportunities for death indemnity work near you.