I'm going to guess it all depends on what the policy states. If there is no other beneficiaries then I would assume the insurance company would not have to cut a check if the only one on the paperwork was a spouse who was accused of murdering the victim...So there could possibly be no check. I mean insurance companies aren't going to go out looking for someone to give the money to if they don't have to. So I guess a check would go to whomever was in the policy to receive it, unless that person KILLED the insured. If no other beneficiary is listed, then no check
Wanted to add, there is usually a time period that the insurance company has topay out the claim. If there is an active investigation going they can probably extend the time period for pay out. At this time there are no charges etc against MS and we don't have access to the policy to know what the payout time is etc...
bbm2 -
deadlines for insurers ?
Is it poss you are thinking about medical, hospital, or
health ins co's as being subject to deadlines to pay benefits?
Chiming in re 'time period' or deadline for
life ins co paying death benefits, after it receives a claim.
A poster (sorry, forgot who, but TYVM) who said s/he paid death benefits for 3 diff ins'rs said s/he had no deadlines re payment. That is consistent w what I know about L/I terms policies gen'ly, life ins co's, & st life ins laws. Could be wrong and welcome opinions of others familiar w the issue.
bbm1
Re ins co getting
windfall (not paying benefits)when designated primary beneficiary is convicted of killing person insured?
I defer to knowledge & experience of the above life-ins co employee/poster above.
Typically ins forms completed at time of policy purchase have spaces so L/I policy owner can designate multiple persons or entities as
primary beneficiaries and if they pre-decease the insured person or are otherwise disqualified (say, by being convicted of
causing death of insured person), then
contingent beneficiaries receive the death benefit $. And if ins co cannot pay death benefit $ to any
persons named as beneficiaries - primary, secondary, contingent, etc, then as other poster said, life ins co pays $ to estate of ins'd person (or poss'ly to policy owner).
Under some circumstances, if unable to determine who to pay to, ins co can file interpleader action, essentially placing $ in court's control and stepping out of picture.
Finally if nobody claims life ins benefits ( for X no. of yrs),
state escheat statutes may require life ins co to transfer $ to the state.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escheat, see paragraph 3 re 'Current Operation.'
IOW L/I co does not get windfall, by collecting L/I premiums and not paying death benefits to anyone.
JM2cts, could be wrong on both ^ points, but agree w prior poster.