Compensation at law…
Historically, the law did not provide any compensation to the families of people who had been killed in an accident. Recognizing this shortcoming of the law, many governments brought in legislation to address it.
Alberta has two important pieces of legislation: the Fatal Accidents Act, and the Survival of Actions Act. The Survival of Actions Act allows the estate to make a claim on behalf of the deceased’s dependants, while the Fatal Accidents Act pays specific compensation to the parents and children of the deceased.
Although these benefits are available, they aren’t often claimed. It is a process, but hiring a lawyer can make it relatively easy.
Life Insurance policies…
Many responsible people will have life insurance policies. Their intent was to have something paid to their loved ones upon their death, either has a token of that person’s importance, or as a vital means of supporting their dependents.
While life insurance is part of responsible estate planning, the unfortunate reality is that insurance companies are known to deny life insurance claims illegitimately. I’ve been shocked to hear the preposterous reasons insurance companies have denied claims. When they get a claim, they will typically pull all the medical information they can, often getting the beneficiaries to sign waivers to aid their “investigations”. They go through the medical documents and find some reason to deny the claim. Meanwhile, the beneficiaries may have difficulties accessing the same medical documents to see if the insurance companies are telling the truth or not. The truth is, if your loved one has died, you probably don’t want to spend a lot of time fighting with an insurance company over money that won’t bring them back.
Because a relatively small percentage of people will fight to get the benefits they were entitled to under a policy, some insurance companies will deny the claim, hoping the beneficiaries just give up. They then get to keep the premiums and the payout.
Don’t let shady life insurance companies get away with this sort of deplorable behaviour, and don’t punish yourself by dealing with them without a lawyer.
Contact us…
If someone you love has died, we can consult with you at no charge.
Historically, the law did not provide any compensation to the families of people who had been killed in an accident. Recognizing this shortcoming of the law, many governments brought in legislation to address it.
Alberta has two important pieces of legislation: the Fatal Accidents Act, and the Survival of Actions Act. The Survival of Actions Act allows the estate to make a claim on behalf of the deceased’s dependants, while the Fatal Accidents Act pays specific compensation to the parents and children of the deceased.
Although these benefits are available, they aren’t often claimed. It is a process, but hiring a lawyer can make it relatively easy.
Life Insurance policies…
Many responsible people will have life insurance policies. Their intent was to have something paid to their loved ones upon their death, either has a token of that person’s importance, or as a vital means of supporting their dependents.
While life insurance is part of responsible estate planning, the unfortunate reality is that insurance companies are known to deny life insurance claims illegitimately. I’ve been shocked to hear the preposterous reasons insurance companies have denied claims. When they get a claim, they will typically pull all the medical information they can, often getting the beneficiaries to sign waivers to aid their “investigations”. They go through the medical documents and find some reason to deny the claim. Meanwhile, the beneficiaries may have difficulties accessing the same medical documents to see if the insurance companies are telling the truth or not. The truth is, if your loved one has died, you probably don’t want to spend a lot of time fighting with an insurance company over money that won’t bring them back.
Because a relatively small percentage of people will fight to get the benefits they were entitled to under a policy, some insurance companies will deny the claim, hoping the beneficiaries just give up. They then get to keep the premiums and the payout.
Don’t let shady life insurance companies get away with this sort of deplorable behaviour, and don’t punish yourself by dealing with them without a lawyer.
Contact us…
If someone you love has died, we can consult with you at no charge.