Positive experience with life insurance?
September 12, 2016 11:29 AM Subscribe
I am looking for positive experiences where you were the beneficiary of a life insurance policy, and you claimed your death benefit with success; what company held the policy and issued your funds without a problem?
My mother-in-law had a couple policies through Mutual of Omaha when she passed away. We expected it to be a huge pain, but it was surprisingly easy. In her case they didn't even require us to send them a death certificate. The director at the funeral home just had to call them and confirm that she actually had the body, and they cut the checks right away.
posted by thejanna at 11:52 AM on September 12, 2016
posted by thejanna at 11:52 AM on September 12, 2016
My wife (and other beneficiaries) had no issues that I can remember in collecting on the New York Life insurance policy when her dad passed.
posted by jimw at 12:31 PM on September 12, 2016
posted by jimw at 12:31 PM on September 12, 2016
Do you want to hear about companies all over the world, or in one specific country, and if so which one?
posted by Too-Ticky at 12:37 PM on September 12, 2016
posted by Too-Ticky at 12:37 PM on September 12, 2016
Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company
posted by Hanuman1960 at 1:12 PM on September 12, 2016
posted by Hanuman1960 at 1:12 PM on September 12, 2016
Is this a problem? I've never heard of difficulty claiming the death benefit.
This. Life insurance is not health or auto or even home insurance. Once a death certificate is issued, you are unarguably dead. I've done three of these and never had an issue at all: Mutual of Omaha, MetLife, Prudential and a secondary policy through a teacher's union.
posted by DarlingBri at 2:12 PM on September 12, 2016
This. Life insurance is not health or auto or even home insurance. Once a death certificate is issued, you are unarguably dead. I've done three of these and never had an issue at all: Mutual of Omaha, MetLife, Prudential and a secondary policy through a teacher's union.
posted by DarlingBri at 2:12 PM on September 12, 2016
Hi. I haven't been the beneficiary of a policy but in my former job, I helped beneficiaries collect money (or did it for the estate).
Hands down, the best, easiest company to deal with was Minnesota Life. Best reps, easiest process, quickest claim-to-check turnaround.
Fidelity is the worst. And I even had a wonderful contact there. I would have to submit the same documents multiple times, long wait time, never gave me/client a complete package; would send forms piecemeal.
posted by tippy at 2:13 PM on September 12, 2016 [1 favorite]
Hands down, the best, easiest company to deal with was Minnesota Life. Best reps, easiest process, quickest claim-to-check turnaround.
Fidelity is the worst. And I even had a wonderful contact there. I would have to submit the same documents multiple times, long wait time, never gave me/client a complete package; would send forms piecemeal.
posted by tippy at 2:13 PM on September 12, 2016 [1 favorite]
I've worked at a company that handled family deaths financially and no life insurance was reluctant to pay.
posted by michaelh at 3:09 PM on September 12, 2016
posted by michaelh at 3:09 PM on September 12, 2016
Life Insurance is going to be the insurance that people are the least mad about. You die, they pay. End of story.
Even if you "accidentally" lied on the application that you were 5 years younger than you really are, they recalculate the death benefit based on what age you should have been, and pay that.
Some people have fought insurance companies based on policy language (suicide and self harm not covered when the person is sane but it could be argued that the act of suicide or self harm is automatically insane) but this usually happens only for very large policies. (Also, suicide is always covered unless it is within 2 years of the policy issue date--one year for some states, some companies also start the 2 year period from reinstatement date).
Most of the headaches with life insurance are going to be where the estate is huge and there is some dispute over the inheritance. A medium to large size insurance company is not going to fight over some small amount like <250K.
posted by LizBoBiz at 1:16 PM on September 13, 2016
Even if you "accidentally" lied on the application that you were 5 years younger than you really are, they recalculate the death benefit based on what age you should have been, and pay that.
Some people have fought insurance companies based on policy language (suicide and self harm not covered when the person is sane but it could be argued that the act of suicide or self harm is automatically insane) but this usually happens only for very large policies. (Also, suicide is always covered unless it is within 2 years of the policy issue date--one year for some states, some companies also start the 2 year period from reinstatement date).
Most of the headaches with life insurance are going to be where the estate is huge and there is some dispute over the inheritance. A medium to large size insurance company is not going to fight over some small amount like <250K.
posted by LizBoBiz at 1:16 PM on September 13, 2016
This thread is closed to new comments.
I've collected on met life policies from my grandparents. The process basically consisted of providing them with a death certificate and waiting for the check to arrive. Actually the might have direct deposited in my grandmother's case..
posted by JPD at 11:37 AM on September 12, 2016 [1 favorite]