Smoking and Life Insurance Claim DenialsLife Insurance Claim Denied – Smoking Since life insurance policies are typically far more expensive for smokers, people are often tempted to lie on their application about their smoking habits. This is never a good idea. Life insurance claims get denied often because an insured dies, and it is discovered that they lied on their application about their tobacco use. This occurs even if the cause of death had absolutely nothing to do with smoking. It’s important to note that in most cases, vaping – or using e-cigarettes – will classify you as a smoker for life insurance policies. This can vary from company to company, so it’s always a good idea to do your own research to find out.
Who Is Considered A Smoker? This varies from company to company. Many companies will consider you a non-smoker if you haven’t smoked within the last twelve months. However, some companies require that you are tobacco-free for the last five years in order to get non-smoking rates for a life insurance policy.
If You Lie About Tobacco Use, Claims Will Be Denied The most common reason an insurance company would deny the payout of life insurance related to tobacco use is if the insured lied about their tobacco use on the initial application.
Contestability Period If the insured dies within two years of purchasing life insurance, this is usually within the contestability period. During this period, the insurance companies will usually do whatever it takes to avoid paying out the benefit. If they can determine that the insured lied about anything on the application, especially their smoking habits, they will deny the claim.
Additionally, if the insured started smoking after purchasing a life insurance policy and passed away within the first two years, the insurance company will likely deny the claim if they find out. Technically, the insured should have notified the company that they started using tobacco.
What To Do If Insured Starts Smoking After Purchasing Policy As noted above, a life insurance claim could be denied if the insured starts smoking after they purchased life insurance. Keep in mind that being a smoker does not mean you can’t purchase life insurance. It generally just means it is going to be much more expensive. However, if the insured purchases a non-smoking life insurance policy and then passes away and the company finds out that the insured has been smoking, this will be a reason for them to deny the claim. This can happen even if the insured didn’t start smoking until after they purchased the policy. It can be difficult for the life insurance company to determine when the insured started smoking, so they’ll often deny the claim. If the beneficiary believes this is incorrect, they will have to appeal.
For this reason, if an insured is a non-smoker when they purchase the policy and then start smoking later, it’s a good idea to inform the insurance company of this change. While the monthly payments might increase, it gives the beneficiaries a much better chance of actually collecting the payment when the insured passes away. Green Mountain Law Firm SEO 104 W Main St Suite 2 Bloomsburg, PA 17815 (570) 273-0898 Serving all types of attorneys including but not limited to personal injury, life insurance, DUI, bankruptcy, family/divorce, immigration, maritime, nursing home, probate, real estate, business/tax, etc firms. Experts in generating exclusive leads that turn into quality cases for attorneys since 2010.
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February 2022
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