Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Colorado
I am the beneficiary of two life insurance policies from my brother who recently passed away. His previous employer, who holds these policies, paid a bill for him when he was in assisted living. He signed a statement that this bill would be reimbursed through the smaller one. I have filed a claim for this one($10,000) quite some time ago but have not received this check, which I think they may be holding up. They are also withholding the information that I need to file a claim for the other one, a larger amount, ( I do not know the amount) until the bill is paid.
This not only seems highly unethical to me and I am wondering if it even legal?
I thought that life insurance policies were to be paid immediately upon death.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Life insurance policies are directly paid to the beneficiary or beneficiaries named in the policy. It is possible that more than one beneficiary was named on a policy and thus it may take longer to process the claim and/or make payments. Additionally, if the policies were issued in the last two years, this sometimes can delay the payment.
While the benefits claim for the insurance may need to be filed through that company's personnel department, policies obtained through work still are typically through an outside insurance company. If you have or can obtain the contact information for the insurance company, you can reach out directly to them to see if they can provide you with additional information on the time frame for payment and/or a benefits claim form. Otherwise, you will need to keep working with your brother's employer. If they continue to not provide you information, I recommend that you contact the Division of Insurance for Colorado at 303-894-7490.
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