The insurance company claims my spouse’s death certificate is forged

Posted December 17, 2014

When filing a life insurance claim, the life insurance company has a team of claims processors who will verify that the named insured has passed away. To process any life insurance claim, the claims adjuster handling your case will ask that you provide a copy of your loved ones death certificate. Without a death certificate, it typically will take the passage of 7 years before anyone will be declared deceased in a court of law. On the death certificate will be the date, time and cause of death so that the adjuster can review the policy details and verify that the policy was active and the cause of death was covered.

Claims adjusters are no stranger to faked death certificates and other forged documentation. Life insurance fraud in the form of faked deaths, while it is difficult to get away with, is still very common today. The most common type of fraud committed involves the forgery of a death certificate, and when people successfully file fraudulent death claims, they are costing the industry hundreds of millions of dollars throughout the year and these costs are passed down to the consumer.

Receiving a claims denial letter stating that your claim was denied because you falsified documents can be extremely frustrating when it is not the truth. While you are not out of line for feeling the frustration, you need to take action because forgery of an official death certificate is a criminal act and can be punishable by time in prison.

Insurers are on high alert when it comes to fake death claims, and if an investigation sheds light on a falsified death certificate, the insurer will present your case to the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud. It is not uncommon for charges to be filed against you for filing a fraudulent insurance claim with a forged death certificate if you are on domestic land. People who are found guilty of fraud may receive a sentence of 10 years or more in prison.

Insurance companies will delay the processing of a death claim if there is any question that a claim is legitimate or a document is authentic. During this time, an investigation team may be assigned to seeing if they can uncover any activity that would demonstrate the named insured is still living. Only when the insurer is as convinced as they can be that your spouse is no longer living will the money be paid out. In some cases, receiving your claims payment may involve taking the insurer to court.

Call The Bennett Law Firm at 405.272.0303 to discuss your legal options with an experienced Oklahoma City lawyer today.