Elder insurance overcharge

[racincrazy]

I have been taking care of my uncle for the last few years. He has been on Hospice care the last few months. He had told me he had a small 20,000 dollar
Life insurance policy he got through his credit union to take care of his funeral. He said I was the beneficiary and his premium of 55 dollars was auto deducted. He passed away last week. I contacted the credit union and they said the policy was a Accidental Death and Dismemberment policy. I know he should have read the details but they overcharged him 50 dollars a month for the last 12 years. He was a disabled veteran, and he had no estate and only 200 dollars left in the bank. Can they be forced to return the overpayment to his estate to pay for funeral.

 

[quincy]

I have been taking care of my uncle for the last few years. He has been on Hospice care the last few months. He had told me he had a small 20,000 dollar
Life insurance policy he got through his credit union to take care of his funeral. He said I was the beneficiary and his premium of 55 dollars was auto deducted. He passed away last week. I contacted the credit union and they said the policy was an Accidental Death and Dismemberment policy. I know he should have read the details but they overcharged him 50 dollars a month for the last 12 years. He was a disabled veteran, and he had no estate and only 200 dollars left in the bank. Can they be forced to return the overpayment to his estate to pay for funeral.

Are you still in Alabama, racinecrazy?

Was your uncle mentally competent when he got the policy?

 

[racincrazy]

Yes Still in Alabama. His mental competency on finances would have been iffy. His little sister had been helping him because he couldn't live by himself. He moved in with us when his sister died two years ago. I talked to an insurance salesman neighbor and he saif if it was Accidental Death the premium should have been about 5 dollars a month through his credit union He has been overpaying about 50 dollars a month for 12 years. I have to wait on his death certificate before his credit union will talk to me.

 

[adjusterjack]

No, they aren't going to refund anything. He paid for what he got.

You don't know that he was overcharged. Your accepting the opinion of an insurance agent who had absolutely nothing to do with the original sale and price of the policy.

I'm guessing that you either don't have the actual policy or haven't read it. Get it and read it. The front page will show you the price and the coverage. It will be what it is.

As for his mental competence, it doesn't take much.

One more thing. It's likely to take more than just the death certificate to get the credit union to talk to you. You may have to get appointed representative of the estate by the probate court.

 

[zddoodah]

He had told me he had a small 20,000 dollar
Life insurance policy he got through his credit union

Do you have or have you seen any documents relating to the policy?

He said . . . his premium of 55 dollars was auto deducted.

Do his credit union account records bear this out? Do you really have CU records going back to 2013?

they overcharged him 50 dollars a month for the last 12 years.

It seems that the bases for this allegation as as follows: (1) your uncle told you the policy was life insurance; (2) some random insurance salesman told you an AD&D policy should only cost about $5 per month; and (3) (maybe) your uncle's CU account records show payments of $55 per month going back to 2013. Is that right? If so, you should know that #1 and #2 are not admissible evidence.

Can they be forced to return the overpayment to his estate

In the abstract, virtually anything is possible, but your answers to the questions above are critical to any informed analysis of this situation.

That said, $50/month for 12 years is only $7,200. If the executor of your uncle's estate can't convince the CU to return the alleged overpayment, then the executor would have to litigate. The limit in Alabama small claims court is $6,000, and litigating with an attorney in regular court will cost at least $7,200. Unless there is clear documentation of this alleged overpayment, the chances of success would be extremely low. AND, even at that, the applicable statute of limitations probably wouldn't let you go back more than (at the most) six year.

 

[quincy]

Yes Still in Alabama. His mental competency on finances would have been iffy. His little sister had been helping him because he couldn't live by himself. He moved in with us when his sister died two years ago. I talked to an insurance salesman neighbor and he saif if it was Accidental Death the premium should have been about 5 dollars a month through his credit union He has been overpaying about 50 dollars a month for 12 years. I have to wait on his death certificate before his credit union will talk to me.

The $55/month seems high. You will need to read the policy and check credit union withdrawals but I suspect the $55 was a biannual payment rather than a monthly payment.