Articles Posted in Life Insurance

Weatherford insurance attorneys and those in Aledo, Azle, Springtown, Cool, Millsap, Willow Park, Hudson Oaks, and other places in Parker County need to know when to fight an insurance company.

A 1988, opinion issued by the Beaumont Court of Appeals styled, Massachusetts Indemnity v. Morrison, is a worth while read. Here is some relevant background.

Michael Morrison died when his car veered off the road and hit a tree. A handwritten note found at the scene appeared to be a suicide note.

Fort Worth life insurance attorneys and those in Weatherford, Mineral Wells, Springtown, Millsap, Brock, Aledo, and other places in Parker County would need to understand the suicide exclusion in life insurance policies.

It is typical for a life insurance policy to exclude suicide as an assumed risk. The Houston (14th District) Court of Appeals opinion in Parchman v. United Liberty Life Insurance Company, discussed a policy that excluded suicide as an assumed risk for two years from the date of the policy and provided a reduced benefit of the return of all premiums paid if death resulted from suicide within that period.

In another opinion, Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company v. Dettle, issued by the Amarillo Court of Appeals, the policy provided: If the insured within two years from the date of the issue of this policy shall die by his own hand or act whether sane or insane, the liability of the Company shall be limited to an amount equal to the premiums actually paid, without interest.

Life Insurance Attorneys in Fort Worth, Weatherford, Grand Prairie, Dallas, and the rest of the State need to have some understanding of when a person is considered dead for life insurance purposes. Admittedly, it is not a situation that is going to occur very often, but is a situation where a little knowledge is necessary.

Stating the obvious: For the beneficiary of a life insurance policy to recover death benefits, the insured must be dead. Doubt may arise when the insured disappeared or when there is uncertainty over the identity of the dead body. There are many Texas cases that stand for the preceding statement.

Proof of the insured’s death may be aided by a legal presumption. After a person is absent for seven years, the law presumes the person to be dead. This is found in the Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code, Section 133.001. It is short and says, “Any person absenting himself for seven successive years shall be presumed dead unless it is proved that the person was alive within the seven-year period.”

Grand Prairie life insurance lawyers and those in Fort Worth, Dallas, Irving, Arlington, Richardson, Mesquite, and other areas in the metroplex area need to be aware of the existence of this case.

The opinion was issued in 1981, by the El Paso Court of Appeals. The style of the case is Doris R. Young v. Members Life Insurance Company. This is an older case and presents a point of view that this writer has not seen in later cases. But one that needs to be noted, just in case.

This is an appeal from a take-nothing judgment in a suit brought by Doris R. Young, to collect the benefits of an insurance policy on the life of her deceased husband, Edwin Young. The judgement is based upon jury findings that the application for insurance contained false representations concerning the health of Edwin.