So my father passed alway in June from a massive heart attack. It came out of nowhere and we were caught very off guard. Well he had a life insurance policy he purchased June 30th of 2022 and he listed me as the beneficiary. Well he passed away June 3rd of 2024 just 3 weeks before the 2 year contest-ability period ended. Well on his application he disclosed his type 2 diabetes and all of his medical information correctly… except for the question about hypertension, it specifically asked if he had ever been diagnosed with hypertension and he put no. Well I just got his medical records back for my records from 2018 to June of 2022. And he hadn’t been diagnosed with hypertension except for one visit in December of 2021 he was diagnosed with hypertension due to a 136/72 but he was never prescribed anything or given a treatment plan so I don’t believe he even knew that he got that diagnosis. Basically I don’t think he lied, he answered everything else correctly and in good faith. Is this something I should worry about being denied.
A month before he passed his BP was 117/82 he never was put on meds for hypertension in his life and this finding in his records is complete news to me and my mother.
From what you’ve described, it seems your father answered the medical question truthfully, based on his best knowledge and belief, which is all the carriers require. Although his omission is significant, it doesn’t seem intentional based on his health history.
If they deny the claim, I strongly suggest seeking legal advice. My condolences for your unexpected loss.
Thank you. Yes, he worked in sales and probably wouldn’t have considered himself having hypertension unless he had a treatment plan or prescription. He regularly checked his blood pressure and blood sugars at home. I don’t think it was intentional or that he was aware of the records. The insurance company would need to prove he was trying to deceive them, which seems difficult to do.
If it’s a good carrier they will be looking for ways to pay the claim. If it’s a tumbleweed financial low cost, low rated, cheap carrier, you may have trouble.
I assume they will likely pay out. Life insurance companies generally don’t withhold funds. This doesn’t seem like material misrepresentation. If no medication was prescribed and no treatment plan was noted, they might have just told him his blood pressure was a little high and recorded it as hypertension. Depending on his age, this blood pressure reading might not even be a concern.
I’m guessing a big component will be the face value. They wouldn’t withhold 100k, too much possible bad publicity. But if it’s a 10 million usd policy?
One high reading alone doesn’t diagnose hypertension. If he had consistently high readings and the doctor noted hypertension in his chart, that would be different. But a single reading is just that—a single measurement, not a diagnosis.
I filed the claim and they have all the records. We live in Texas and our state law states that the insurance company has to prove intent to deny. I truly don’t think he lied my mom’s a nurse and they have the same primary care physician and usually went together she had no clue of this either.
Sorry for your loss. If you have submitted all the paperwork to the insurance company, they should pay out within 30 days. If they deny the claim, you should contest it, but I doubt they will deny a $115K claim. Please let us know what the insurance company says.