What are my options if an insurance company won’t pay life insurance benefits?
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What are my options if an insurance company won’t pay life insurance benefits?
The insurer has been holding my claim now for 9 months. My brother made a fraudulent claim and sent in paperwork after my mother died. They took the opportunity to put a hold on my funds. Now they won’t give me any information
about the claim. I want to find out what court they sent it to and when can I
expect to receive a date.
Asked on July 12, 2018 under Insurance Law, Texas
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
You can sue the insurer for "breach of contract"--for violating their contractual (an insurance policy is a contract) obligation. As (we presume) a beneficiary of the policy, you are a person for whose benefit the policy was taken out; that makes you a third-party beneficiary of the policy and gives you standing (or the legal right) to sue. If there is another case invovling this policy, it may be consolidated (combined) with that other case, but if you don't even know where the other case was brought, you can't yourself file any papers to be included in or intervene in that other case; therefore, you need to file your own case against the insurer, then let them move (make a formal request) to consolidate or combine the cases if they want. One way or another (in its own case, or consolidated with another case), by filing your own case, you should be able to get your claim in front of a court.
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