What Happens If the Beneficiary of a Life Insurance Policy is Convicted of Murder?
Every now and then, we hear stories of a wife murdering the husband or the husband murdering the wife in order to get the other party’s life insurance benefits. This they call, murder for life insurance money.
In 2013, a 45-year-old Cleveland mother by the name, Uloma Walker-Curry murdered her firefighter husband in order for her to collect $100,000 in insurance money unknown to her that her husband hasn’t updated the beneficiary details with the insurance provider.
In another development, Jennifer Lynn Via of West Virginia was accused of murdering her husband, Thomas Via in 2017 in order to take his life insurance money. This further buttresses the disadvantages of term life insurance.
If you are conversant with the news, you will know that this is not a new thing in almost all parts of the United States. Now, policyholders and insurance enthusiasts are asking what will happen if the beneficiary of a life insurance policy is convicted of murder.
Will an insurance company still pay the life insurance benefit to the beneficiary if the beneficiary was guilty of killing the policyholder? If someone is murdered and the beneficiary is guilty, does the life insurance company still payout no matter the various types of life insurance policy involved?
What happens if the beneficiary of a life insurance policy is convicted of the murder of the policyholder? The insurer will still pay the life insurance benefit if the policyholder was murdered but not to the person who murdered him or was an accomplice.
Knowing fully well how your death can impact your dependents at this time or in the future can help you decide which life insurance policy is best for you. For people above 50, you can get the best life insurance coverage for seniors at an affordable rate.
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Slayer Statutes
- In the United States, life insurance is regulated and controlled at the state level. For more information, you can reach out to the state insurance commissioner near you for more details.
- States have “slayer” statutes or laws that prevent life insurance beneficiaries from receiving proceeds if they are intentionally involved in the insured’s death.
- In many states, the perpetrator does not need to be criminally convicted by the life insurance company to avoid payout to the suspected beneficiary.
Who does the life insurance company pay?
- Normally an innocent “contingent” beneficiary, someone named in the event the “primary” beneficiary was not eligible, would receive the insurance proceeds.
- In the event a contingent beneficiary is not named, the money would normally go to the estate of the insured.
When foul play is suspected, law enforcement generally contacts the insurance company if the beneficiary is a suspect.
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If law enforcement does not contact the insurance company, the death certificate will show that death is the result of foul play and the insurance company will contact local law enforcement. This helps them to easily recognize and tackle any form of insurance fraud in the US.
Assuming nobody was convicted of murder, how fast your beneficiary will get their life insurance money will be determined by how reliable the life insurance provider is. Here’s a guide that will teach you how to choose the best life insurance company in the United States, the United Arab Emirates, the UK and Australia.
