Help Do life insurance policies actually payout?

[L$D]

I'm worried that they will find a reason not to pay. I intend to premeditate my suicide according to the policy, so I will likely CTB quickly after the suicide clause period ends. My primary worry is that they will find out that it was all premeditated and decide to not pay.

I would appreciate any input, thank you all.

 

[UnravelingWinter]

I went down the long rabbit hole of looking all of this up last year. Every place will have you do a medical exam, including asking about every part of your psychological and mental illness history for the last 10+ years (some places have a 10 year cut-off). If you don't include literally everything, then if they find out, they can claim that you weren't forthcoming about your condition at the time of signing the policy and they don't have to pay. That includes past suicide attempts, etc. They may request for contact information from previous therapists, social workers, etc., as well. Most, if not all, also require that you can't be currently prescribed more than one antidepressant, since it's a warning sign to their wallets.

There also has to be a financially justifiable reason for the policy amount you want to cover your life, and you have to prove that there are people financially dependent upon/relying on that money (and that specific amount of money) should you die.

You could try going through the whole process, but it's doubtful they'd let you sign.

 

[L$D]

I didn't know that they literally talk to therapists, that's very unfortunate. @UnravelingWinter

I was prescribed to a few antidepressants, so do you know what will likely happen if I disclose that information? Will they just increase the cost of my premiums?

If you don't mind me asking, are you located in the US? I'm also curious if these requirements change with location.

 

[UnravelingWinter]

I didn't know that they literally talk to therapists, that's very unfortunate. @UnravelingWinter

I was prescribed to a few antidepressants, so do you know what will likely happen if I disclose that information? Will they just increase the cost of my premiums?

If you don't mind me asking, are you located in the US? I'm also curious if these requirements change with location.

If you disclose that you're on more than one antidepressant, they won't sign you on for a policy at all. I'm in the US.

It would be nice to leave our families some money after we're gone, but it's just too difficult to get life insurance.

 

[its-about-time]

If you disclose that you're on more than one antidepressant, they won't sign you on for a policy at all. I'm in the US.

It would be nice to leave our families some money after we're gone, but it's just too difficult to get life insurance.

Damn. I have never considered a policy for myself but now I know it'd be moot to try. That's effed up.

 

[TheBroken]

Typically 2 year suicide wait ... after 2 years they'll pay. Antidepressants and other things aren't automatic denials for getting a policy, depends on your overall health history and other factors. Even if premiums are higher because of health issues, you're only paying them for 24 months plus another month or two to get some distance past suicide period if it makes you feel better. Legally, even if a person CTB on the day after the 2 year waiting period they don't have much legal standing to refuse payout.

 

[artificial_ineptness]

I wish I knew, but getting any good verifiable info on this is hard.

I have found some reasons to believe that it should probably be fine, for example, Colorado statute, section 10-7-109, C.R.S. (2019), which provides:
"The suicide of a policyholder after the first policy year of any life insurance policy issued by any life insurance company doing business in this state shall not be a defense against the payment of a life insurance policy, whether said suicide was voluntary or involuntary, and whether said policyholder was sane or insane." (stumbled upon it in this court case but also here)
and in the notes of the section it states:
"The general assembly in enacting this section assumed that after one whole year had elapsed from the time the insured made application for the policy it should be conclusively presumed that he did not contemplate suicide when he made the application, and consequently that he did not contemplate defrauding the company by taking his own life."

As a note: in my mind, I generalized this to probably apply at the very least to all US states that have similar legislature about the suicide clause period, and possibly to the legal standing of this in western countries in general.

There is also this recent paper that states that fraud (by suicide) seems to rarely happen (less than 0.5%) and could just be covered by slightly higher premiums for all insured, and points to this 1977 article that proposed that (UK?) insurance companies should get rid of the suicide clause entirely.

Not that any of that is conclusive or anything. I will also try to get a policy soon to get first hand experience, so obv will be able to share more then.