Life Insurance just Denied...HELP Please

[kzort]

What is the name of your state? What is the name of your state? CA

I got married in October 2003 and purchased a $100,000 life insurance policy on my new husband, thru my employer's group policy, to be effective 1/1/04. On January 26, 2004, my husband was diagnosed with cancer. Premiums for this policy have been deducted every paycheck since 1/1/04.

FOUR MONTHS LATER, on April 9, 2004, we were contacted by a physican working on behalf of the insurance company, notifying us that they needed my husband to take a physical in order to validate the policy.

When we applied for the policy we had no idea that he had cancer and, had they conducted the physical prior to 1/26/04, he mostly likely would have passed.

Do I have any recourse, since now knowing he has cancer, I'm sure we'll never be able to obtain life insurance on him again.

Thanks

 

[Ramoth]

What do the plan documents say? At my company, I can purchase coverage for my husband up to my annual salary without a physical, but anything over that requires one.

 

[cbg]

What did your Human Resources or Benefits person say when you asked them about it?

I have to tell you, I've been working with employer sponsored group benefits for all of my working life, which is almost twenty five years, and I have NEVER heard of a company that would allow you to purchase a life insurance policy of that size on a dependent. Most companies don't offer dependent life at all, and those that do generally offer it in only very small (for life insurance) amounts; $25,000 is the largest I've ever seen and that was only once; mostly it's only $5,000 or $10,000. I have absolutely no problem believing that a physical would be necessary, even assuming that a company was willing to offer insurance in that amount on a dependent.

 

[ShyCat]

I don't know if it's all that unusual for spousal insurance. I pay for a $100,000 life insurance policy on my husband through my employer, and he pays for a $50,000 policy on me through his employer, both at the maximum without requiring a medical exam. We're in two different industries too, with corporations based on opposite sides of the country, so it's not just an industry/regional thing.

 

[cbg]

It may be a size-of-company thing, though, I suppose; I know that Ramoth works for a huge company and I've worked primarily for small-to-medium sized. That's interesting - I'd no idea that larger companies would provide such huge amounts on dependents.

 

[krispenstpeter]

And I'm wondering about all these women purchasing life insurance on their spouses.

Me thinks something foul is afoot in Denmark

 

[cbg]

Rest easy, krispy, I don't have any life insurance on Mr. CBG.

My question to the OP still stands; what did HR or the Benefits department say when you asked about it?

 

[kzort]

CBG:

They forwarded my question to the insurance broker and they're reply was we're sorry it's just an unfortunate circumstance "that he was diagnosed with cancer before they got around to the physical".

And yes, the parent company of mine is very large, I was able to purchase alot more than 100K, but fihured if my husband died, one year of his salary was enough coverage. I wasn't trying to get rich, just to be able to pay off some debt and not to lose the house after he's gone, which I thought was going to be in about 30 years, not 3 !

 

[djohnson]

When you signed up for the insurance did you know there would be a physical required? It should have been in the original paperwork. My employer will allow you to add within 60 days of the change with no physical, but would be required after that. And even if it is required they have a time frame it is to be completed in. The details are all in the paperwork.

 

[kzort]

Yes, it does require evidence of insurablility, my problem is that it took them 4 months to contact us to request it. There should be a limit to the time (30 days or so) that the physical has to be done by.

Basically any insurance is a gamble. The insurance company is betting that your not going to get in a car accident or develop a deadly disease. As in this case, a lot can happen in 4 months.

 

[djohnson]

There claim will probably be that it was your responsibility to get the physical in that 30 day time frame. That they didn't realize you hadn't done that until they were auditing the records. If you knew that was a requirement, you should have followed up also. I'm sorry, but there is probably nothing you can do about it at this point.

 

[Bigfoot]

I'm sorry that your husband has been diagnosed with cancer, however, that does not prevent you from possibly obtaining at least some coverage. There are companies that offer modified coverage for the first two years and then full coverage. Although it's doubtful that companies will allow for a $100,000 policy, there are smaller amounts you can consider.