A woman is suing a life insurance company in a U.S. District Court for wrongful denial of her death benefit claim. In the complaint, the woman alleges that the insurance company improperly denied a $200,000 death benefit claim because it said her ex-husband listed the wrong height on his insurance application. The woman’s ex-husband was killed in a motor vehicle accident in 2013 and she filed the suit on behalf of their child. The ex-husband purchased a supplemental life insurance policy from a large life insurer several years before his death.
According to the suit, the insurer denied the claim on the basis that the ex-husband falsely indicated on his insurance application that he was 5 feet, 11 inches tall. The insurer, citing to the man’s medical records, stated the man’s actual height was 5 feet, 8 inches to 5 feet, 9 inches tall and that its medical underwriter would not have approved the man’s policy if he had stated his correct height on his insurance application. Among other things, the complaint alleges that the insurer denied the claim solely on the basis of a hyper-technical issue. An autopsy report revealed the man’s height was 5 feet, 10½ inches and a doctor indicated individual body height can change by as much as a half-inch over the course of a single day. The insurance company spokesman would not comment on the matter. All things considered, this will certainly be an interesting case to follow over the coming months.
If you have been denied on your life insurance or accidental death and dismemberment benefit, don’t be discouraged, contact an experienced life insurance attorney to hear about your recovery options!