Need advice about a Life Insurance Claim

[blk96slowbra]

So my father passed away May 1 of this year and through his work he had life insurance through Cigna. He was a teacher and the school supplied part of the coverage and then my dad was paying extra each month to get a bigger policy which totaled $160,000. After his death we filed the claim and a few weeks went by and Cigna released $20,000 which was what the school had provided, they then said there were some issues and they would sort things out and then release more. A few weeks later they released another $60,000, so they stilled owed $80,000. Then the bullshit starts in. For the past two months my sister and I have been getting the run around on whats going on. Nobody at Cigna will tell us anything but they've been talking the my dad's employer so we've found out stuff through them. But the gist of what's going on is Cigna has said my dad was never properly approved for the bigger policy, even though the school board has proof that they did accept him. There's also records dating back to 1996 that show my dad has been paying the extra payments.
How can you accept payments for atleast 16 years and then say they were never approved for the policy??? They keep saying they're re-writing the policy so that they can payout the rest of the amount.
My question is do I have grounds to get a lawyer and file for insurance fraud?

 

[cobra_mer]

Another suggestion before lawyer is take it to your local news channel have them run the story. that might get the insurance company to fix these faster than courts will. Nothing effects your companies stock like bad PR.

 

[prostkr]

If I had 80 grand being held by an insurance company for any reason they would be dealing with my lawyer. I don't trust insurance company's as far as I can throw them. If handled properly I would almost bet you can also get them to cover the lawyers fees too.

 

[Planter]

After his death we filed the claim and a few weeks went by and Cigna released $20,000 which was what the school had provided, they then said there were some issues and they would sort things out and then release more. A few weeks later they released another $60,000, so they stilled owed $80,000. Then the bullshit starts in. But the gist of what's going on is Cigna has said my dad was never properly approved for the bigger policy, even though the school board has proof that they did accept him. There's also records dating back to 1996 that show my dad has been paying the extra payments.

if they released partial payment, they've accepted that he had a policy by default when they released funds.

Secondly, I'd submit a complaint to the Attorney General in your state, and the Insurance Commissioner. There's certain ethics they have to follow otherwise they get fined and get in some pretty big trouble.

I would also file a claim with the Better Business Bureau, and +2 on contacting the media and getting them involved.

 

[POPPAJ]

Go to news at 5

 

[svtcop]

What a pain in the ass insurance companies can be. :nonono:

Do what everyone has stated already on here. But do all of it! Don't let up until they make things right. Don't settle for an excuse or an empty promise. Until you have the funds in hand, don't stop.

 

[blk96slowbra]

I called Cigna today and when I asked what was going on they went round and round with their answers like usual mad then said that they are having the issue because the school allowed my dad to pay extra for the bigger policy and Cigna doesn't know why. Once again Cigna is the one that ultimately gets the money so if they saw extra money coming in and had an issue with it they should've said something about it 16 years ago.
Currently trying to get ahold of the paperwork from my dad's employer so that way I have physical evidence in my hands to show to news, lawyers, etc.

 

[Humboldt1498]

Love insurance companies. Always looking for a way to screw their customers. :nonono:

As others have stated, contact a local news agency and see if they will help to put pressure on the insurance company. Also, try to spread your message around the internet. Post to facebook, twitter, more forums, etc. If you can make your message go viral, most likely, the insurance company will pay out in a heart beat.

Just read this article last week. The story is somewhat similar to yours.
Progressive settles with accident victim's family after tale went viral - Aug. 17, 2012

Good luck :beer:

 

[Sprayed2v]

Cigma sucks ass. My gf has that through her employer and tbey dont cover a damn thing. Shes prego ATM so we go to the docs office regularly. The most they have covered was 40.32 Outta a 300 dollar billl. They suck donkey balls bad

 

[Outlaw99]

local media then lawyer

 

[blk96slowbra]

I've finally received some explanation from my dad's employer. Cigna is going to follow through and pay the rest of the policy, who knows when it will happen though. The issue was there was another company the was in the middle and so communication somehow got lost. Cigna is still a big pile of shit though, they were still claiming they denied my dad but when asked for this so called denial letter they sent they've never been able to produce evidence of it. In the end we'll get the full amount of the policy but this is way to much of a hassle to deal with.

 

[POPPAJ]

Alls well that ends well!