Life Insurance Claim

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jsalero

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My jurisdiction is: Wisconsin

Hello ~ I am looking for some advice in regards to an indifferent and frustrating insurance company. My father was killed in an auto accident in July. He apparently fell asleep at the wheel and plowed into the rear axle of a semi-trailer going the opposite direction and passed away within 15 minutes of impact. No one else was injured in the accident. It took until early November to get the autopsy/pathology/tox reports back. The reports show clearly that death was due to injuries received in the accident and my father's tox report showed no alcohol or drugs in his system. My mother submitted the life insurance claims - their auto insurance provided a $10,000 accidental death benefit, which paid out immediately upon submission of the claim. Another policy also paid within 2-3 weeks of submission of the claim (small policy, $25,000 accidental death benefit). The final claim is not going so smoothly. This was a $50,000 accidental death life insurance policy. This policy has been in force for over 20 years. The company received the claim on 11/05/08. We've called once per week for the past three weeks only to be told that 1) it's being processed 2)the claim has been sent to "the carrier" and they have heard nothing yet, call again next week. They will give us no further info.

The medical reports are very clear cut. The other companies have paid. I don't understand how or why a company can drag their feet so long (6 weeks and counting). Are there any type of laws governing the amount of time allowed to process a life insurance claim? A concern we have is that the policy is underwritten by AIG - with all that is going on with them, it's worrisome that they may up and disappear before our claim is settled.

Do we just sit tight or do we need to hire legal representation to get this thing moving?

Thanks so much!
 
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