FRIENDS DH COMMITTED SUICIDE - URG LEGAL ADVICE RE LIFE INSURANCE IF CAN ADVISE PLEASE

[NotMyNameButHereForever]

Friends DH committed suicide last week. Obviously there are a 1000 shades and angles of shit to this but the one thats occupying her mind - and terror - right now (& the only one I feel I can somehow help with) is that the life insurance they each took out for house/mortgage won't pay out as suicide - can anyone please advise? Does life insurance pay out for beneficiaries if policy holder died by suicide?

TIA

Only by looking at the policy will you know

Some do some don’t

A Claims Management company would helping this situation OP. I know they have a rep for ambulance chasing but they are brilliant for complicated cases and those where the claimant is in a difficult place.

Condolences to your friend.

The type of mortgage won't matter as the two won't be linked.

Assuming there were no exclusions for mental health reasons.

Most companies cover it after 12-24 months of the policy being on risk.

However, best bet it to check the policy ASAP.

I'm a broker and been selling these policies for over 18 years.

Sorry to hear of her loss.

I think you are confusing the terms of the mortgage and possibly buildings insurance with life insurance.

Life insurance insures life. The underwriting on his life is what is relevant, not the type of mortgage they held.

The level of confusion here makes clear that she shouldn't make the claim herself, she would be best to have a solicitor do on her behalf - to avoid, as PPs have said, giving out breadcrumbs of info which could be used (even incorrectly) to enable to insurer to get out of paying.

If I were her, I would phone and obtain the policy docs - giving no further information - and have a professional put in the claim on her behalf.

It's pointless panicking either way. The only way you'll know for sure is to check with the provider.

My policy states that if suicide is within a year of the start of the policy it's not covered. After that it is.
All policies are different and it depends on the wording in her particular policy.

Conquest is right - I know about this because a friend went through it a long time ago. Without wanting to be gruesome, the coroner shouldn't record suicide unless its totally unambiguous - which, if he was on a lot of medication such as painkillers, it might not be. This will strongly affect the insurance situation.

I used to work paying life assurance claims. We paid out on suicide deaths because we wouldn’t discriminate against the beneficiaries. We would check with the coroner that there were no suspicious circumstances or third party involvement in the death. In the case of any death we wouldn’t pay out if the policy was less than two years old - we would refund the premiums paid with interest.

Yes, ‘regular’ life insurance pays out on suicide, usually after a one year ‘waiting period’ during which time the policy would not cover suicide. Exceptions would be failure to disclose a mental illness

(Sorry - two year ‘waiting period’ is typical though one year also exists)

Yes they do, suicide is a mental illness and it's covered by insurance although there normally is a short exclusion period at the start

@TooManyDogsandChildren

Tell your friend to be very cautious (and you too) about what is said to the insurance company. Insurers will wriggle out of paying if they can and you do not want to give them ammunition to argue that H had MH problems which should have been disclosed.

Ideally stay off the phone when you can be drawn into chat and do all communication by carefully considered email or letter.

OP,

This is ver wise advice.
Extreme caution if contacting by phone.
All phone calls are recorded.

I’m so sorry to hear of your friend's situation and loss. Must be awful for her.

I helped a friend a couple of years ago when her mother took her own life. They had a mortgage together (older mother moved in with single daughter, for company and to put money together for a property). The insurance paid out, but it had a 24 month time clause on it. They’d had it about 5 years, which meant my friend could pay off the mortgage.
I should add that companies were willing to speak to me on my friend’s behalf. We did the calls together, and she would say at the beginning of the call that she gave me permission, etc. She wasn’t thinking entirely straight, and understandably wasn’t retaining all of the info, so she asked me to help her with it. Just in case that’s helpful for you to know in assisting your friend too.
Hope that you can both find a way through this.

@DioneTheDiabolist

A Claims Management company would helping this situation OP. I know they have a rep for ambulance chasing but they are brilliant for complicated cases and those where the claimant is in a difficult place.

Condolences to your friend.

Please don’t go to a claims management company. They charge a lot of money and this is a pretty straightforward claim

Thank you all for advice and guidance

And no, no history of mental illness prior to the pressures that tipped him over the edge in past couple of years and very definitely none at point mortgage was taken out over a decade ago.

This must have been devastating for your friend and I hope the advice given here will help you assist your friend and she receives an insurance payout

Buy to let may well be an issue with some brokers , I believe mine specifically states this

I underwrite life insurance and have worked for claims. Depending on the age of the policy they’ll pay out, usually a clause not to pay for suicide in the first year or two of a policy, but there is a lot of ifs. They’ll want clear documentation for the GP and death certificate plus the coroners office that this was suicide. They will also investigate his medical details to ensure he told the truth when taking out the policy. I.e if he’s had a history of depression and didn’t tel them they may not pay out and will label it as being deliberately or recklessly misleading. As long as they told the truth at application stage they’ll be ok

Also...insurance is never looking not to pay out but the way have to ensure everything was correct when the policy was taken out. If it was then it’s A very simple claims process providing they can get all the information m, with COVID I would expect delays with the coroners and GP’s. No need for a solicitor, if your friend is convened about giving out info she can just say she’s not sure or doesn’t know. They’ll get all the need from medical records. They may ask her to clarify things if there is convened

So sorry for your loss. You are a good friend to help your friend with this at this horrific time.
The insurance on our mortgage paid out after my husband's suicide a number of years ago. He had declared suffering from depression when we initially took it out and we had the policy for 18 months when it paid out. I think it all depends on the small print of the policy. X

@LaMontser

I used to work paying life assurance claims. We paid out on suicide deaths because we wouldn’t discriminate against the beneficiaries. We would check with the coroner that there were no suspicious circumstances or third party involvement in the death. In the case of any death we wouldn’t pay out if the policy was less than two years old - we would refund the premiums paid with interest.

n the case of any death we wouldn’t pay out if the policy was less than two years old - we would refund the premiums paid with interest.

How did you get away with this with? Unless there was a clause in the policy stating they wouldn't pay out < 2 years this screams of poor practice.

@FatBottomedGurl I thinks they may mean any death from suicide in the first 2 years. There’s always a clause that states this on insurance and it’s either 12 months or two years. For other causes of death, I.e cancer/heart attack, they will pay out if they told the truth about their health on the application. It’s due to a series of claims very early on in a policy due to suicide many years ago where people had intentionally taken the policies out knowing they were mentally unwell and perhaps intended to take their own life. I’ve process claimed where someone’s unfortunately died 3 months into the policy from an unexpected heart attack and were previously healthy, no known medical issues

Fatbotyomedgirl.

This is exactly the case, it's usually excluded for the first 1-2 years of the policy running.

[quote Lilac95]@FatBottomedGurl I thinks they may mean any death from suicide in the first 2 years. There’s always a clause that states this on insurance and it’s either 12 months or two years. For other causes of death, I.e cancer/heart attack, they will pay out if they told the truth about their health on the application. It’s due to a series of claims very early on in a policy due to suicide many years ago where people had intentionally taken the policies out knowing they were mentally unwell and perhaps intended to take their own life. I’ve process claimed where someone’s unfortunately died 3 months into the policy from an unexpected heart attack and were previously healthy, no known medical issues[/quote]
Thanks, makes sense. I thought they meant any death, as opposed to death by suicides.