Life Insurance

Beneficiary Of Life Insurance Can Assert First Party Claims

June 26, 2014 | Mark S. Humphreys

Life insurance attorneys in Fort Worth know that a beneficiary of a life insurance policy can assert claims against an insurer that denies benefits of a life insurance claim. This is pointed out in 1996, San Antonio Court of Appeals opinion styled, Mendoza v. American National Insurance Co. Here is some of the relevant information.

Jerry Mendoza was the named insured under a $25,000 life insurance policy purchased from American National on August 1, 1991. The October premium, which was due on the first, was not paid. The policy provided for a thirty-one day grace period.

The summary judgment evidence revealed that on Friday, November 1, 1991, the last day to pay under the grace period, American National’s agent and district manager, Leon Sitka, verbally agreed to extend the grace period to Monday, November 4, 1991. This agreement or representation by Sitka was contrary to the terms of the policy, which only authorized American National’s president, vice-president or secretary to extend the time for payment of premiums.

Life Insurance – Misrepresentation As To Net Worth

May 18, 2014 | Mark S. Humphreys

A trial result regarding the above issue is something a Dallas Fort Worth insurance lawyer wants to know.

An opinion from the Houston Court of Appeals (14th Dist.) deals with this issue. The style of the case Vasquez v. Reliastar Life Insurance Co. Here is the relevant information.

In March 2008, Russell Mackert and Beatrice Ramon submitted an application with ReliaStar for insurance on the life of Ramon, seeking an initial term of ten years for an amount of $2.5 million. The application named the Trust as the proposed beneficiary and owner of the policy and Mackert as trustee. The asserted purpose of the Trust was “Estate Conservation.” Mackert and Ramon also represented in the application that Ramon’s total net worth was $2.4 million, her annual interest and other income was $150,000, and she had never declared bankruptcy. Mackert and Ramon signed the application acknowledging that ReliaStar may seek to rescind coverage due to material misrepresentations.

Life Insurance – Missed Payments

April 24, 2014 | Mark S. Humphreys

Aledo life insurance attorneys need to know the effect of payments missed on a life insurance policy. To begin with, each policy is different and thus the policy language needs to be read and then applied to the facts of the situation.

A February 2014, opinion from the Houston Court of Appeals, 1st District dealt with this issue to the detriment of the beneficiary. The style of the case is Lambana v. AIG. Here is some of the relevant information.

Pamela Lombana (“Lombana”), acting as the trustee of the Lombana Investment Trust challenged the trial court’s rendition of summary judgment in favor of AIG on her claims against AIG for breach of contract, breach of an oral or implied contract to reinstate, promissory estoppel, negligence, violations of the Texas Insurance Code, violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act (“DTPA”), breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing, fraud, and fraud by nondisclosure. This appeals court affirmed the trial court decision.

Life Insurance And Missed Payments

April 19, 2014 | Mark S. Humphreys

North Richland Hills Lawyers who handle life insurance claims can read this case and then tell potential clients they better hire an attorney. This case is from the United States District Court, Northern District, Fort Worth Division. The style is Doretha Hall v. Fidelity & Guaranty Life Insurance Company. Here is the relevant information.

Fidelity issued a term life insurance policy to Mr. Hall in the face amount of $75,000.00. In his application, Mr. Hall designated Doretha as the beneficiary of the policy, and no changes to that designation were ever made. Mr. Hall also requested the premium payments be drafted from his checking account. However, the payment due November 1, 2010, in the amount of $73.65, was rejected because Mr. Hall’s checking account was closed. On November 8, 2010, Fidelity sent a notice of the rejected payment to Mr. Hall’s home address. On December 3, 2010, Fidelity sent Mr. Hall a late payment notice informing him that his premium payment was past due and that the policy would lapse if the premium was not paid by the end of the grace period. When Fidelity still had not received any payment, it sent a second late payment notice on January 3, 2011, informing Mr. Hall again that his payment was past due and that his policy would lapse if the premium was not paid by the end of the grace period. On February 2, 2011, Fidelity mailed Mr. Hall a lapse notice indicating that Mr. Hall’s policy had lapsed and terminated on December 2, 2010, because Mr. Hall had failed to pay his premiums. The lapse notice expressly stated that to apply for reinstatement, Mr. Hall must complete the enclosed application for reinstatement and submit it with the past due premium amounts. On February 10, 2011, Fidelity received a check in regards to Mr. Hall’s policy in the amount of $73.65. Fidelity held the check in suspense and then refunded it to Mr. Hall on March 18, 2011, because Fidelity did not receive a reinstatement application or the remaining past-due premiums.

Doretha notified Fidelity of Mr. Hall’s death on April 17, 2011. However, Fidelity denied the claim for benefits under Mr. Hall’s policy because the policy had lapsed and terminated for nonpayment of premiums prior to Mr. Hall’s death.

Life Insurance And Interpleader

April 1, 2014 | Mark S. Humphreys

Life insurance lawyers will have to deal with situations where the proceeds of a life insurance policy are interpleaded into the registry of a court. A February 2014, 14th Court of Appeals opinion dealt with this issue. The style of the case is, Branch v. Monumental Life Insurance Company. Here is some of the relevant information.

Monumental filed this interpleader to resolve competing claims to the proceeds of a $10,000 policy insuring the life of Archie Branch Sr. (“Archie”). The policy was obtained during Archie’s marriage to Loretta Young Branch (“Loretta”), and Loretta was the named beneficiary. Archie and Loretta divorced on May 3, 2011. Six weeks later, Archie died.

According to Loretta, she demanded the insurance proceeds as the named beneficiary, but Monumental refused payment. Monumental learned that a newspaper obituary identified five people as Archie’s children.

Life Insurance Claim Denial

February 9, 2014 | Mark S. Humphreys

Life insurance attorneys will tell you that the language used in the insurance policy is important to determining coverage. An experienced Insurance Law Attorney will also tell you there are many ways of getting around some of the language in a policy.

Here is a case where the facts were bad but the case still serves as an example of how the courts interpret policy language. The style of the case is Douglas v. Southwestern Life Ins. Co. It is a Tyler Court of Appeals opinion that was issued in 1964.

Here is some of the relevant information.

Misrepresentations In Life Insurance Policy

January 19, 2014 | Mark S. Humphreys

Weatherford lawyers who handle life insurance disputes need to know the law relating to when an insurance company can void a policy after it has learned of a misrepresentation. The particular statute can be found in Texas Insurance Code, Section 705.005.

A 1969 case from the San Antonio Court of Appeals helps to show how this statute works. The style of the case is, Prudential Insurance v. Torres.

The facts are substantially undisputed. Prior to January 5, 1967, Torres was an employee of Gonzaba Lumber Company, which was owned by Luis Gonzaba, brother of Mrs. Bertha Torres. For some time, Luis Gonzaba and some of his six employees had considered securing a group insurance policy to provide hospitalization and medical benefits.

Life insurance Reinstatement

November 28, 2013 | Mark S. Humphreys

Dallas life insurance attorneys need to read this opinion just issued from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. The style of the case is, Cardenas v. United of Omaha Life Insurance Company.

This case arises from United of Omaha Life Insurance Company’s denial of Cardenas’s claim for benefits from a life insurance policy taken out by Cardenas’s daughter, Elvia Sierra. The policy lapsed and was subsequently reinstated; Sierra died thirteen months after the reinstatement. As required by the Texas Insurance Code, the policy contained a provision that it would become incontestable if it remained in force “for two years from its date of issue during the lifetime of the insured.” Although the policy does not have a provision dealing with contestability following reinstatement, the parties agree there is such a period. They differ over how the death of the insured during the contestability period will affect the reinstatement. The district court found that the reinstated policy never became incontestable because Sierra died before the two-year period ran. Cardenas argues that a section of the Texas Administrative Code controls and requires finding that the reinstated policy became incontestable.

United of Omaha Life issued a life insurance policy to Cardenas’s daughter, Elvia Sierra, on March 26, 2001. The policy lapsed for nonpayment of premiums in June 2005.

Life Insurance Denial

July 14, 2013 | Mark S. Humphreys

Fort Worth life insurance attorneys will want to ready this Dallas case. The case is styled, Bich Ngoc Nguyen v. Allstate Insurance Company and Lincoln Benefit Life Insurance Company. The opinion is from the Dallas Court of Appeals and was issued on May 29, 2013.

Here is some relevant information from this summary judgement case:

On May 12, 2008, Bich’s mother, Anh Nguyen (Ahn), contacted Suong Truong, an insurance agent, about purchasing life insurance. Anh did not speak, read, or write English and discussed the purchase with Truong in Vietnamese. Truong completed the application for life insurance in English, and Anh signed the application. In the application, Anh answered “no” to questions about any existing health conditions, including whether, in the past ten years, she had been treated for, had any sign or symptom of, or been told that she had a lung disorder. She also denied that she had seen a doctor or been hospitalized during the five years preceding the application. Truong submitted the application for life insurance to Lincoln.

Life Insurance – Who Gets The Money?

June 13, 2013 | Mark S. Humphreys

Fort Worth life insurance attorneys will understand why people need an attorney’s help in these disputes after reading this case. The case is styled, Cheryl M. Patterson and Aundrell Patterson v. American General Life Insurance Company. The opinion was issued in May 2013, by the Houston Court of Appeals, 1st Dist.

Here is the relevant information.

The operative facts of this case are largely undisputed. On May 3, 2007, American General issued a life insurance policy for Lonnie J. Patterson, Jr. The policy initially named Lonnie, Jr.’s father, Lonnie J. Patterson, Sr., the primary beneficiary and his mother, Cheryl M. Patterson, the contingent beneficiary. American General subsequently received a change of beneficiary for the policy, naming Lonnie, Jr.’s mother, Cheryl, and, his sister, Aundrell Patterson, as primary co-beneficiaries. American General acknowledged and confirmed this change in a November 2007 letter to Lonnie, Jr.