Does a drug overdose break a life insurance policy?

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Asked July 6, 2010

1 Answer


Whether a drug overdose breaks a life insurance policy depends on several factors, such as the terms of the policy, the cause of death, and the circumstances surrounding the overdose. Firstly, it's important to note that life insurance policies typically have a "contestability period," which is a window of time (usually two years) during which the insurance company can investigate and potentially deny a claim if they discover that the policyholder misrepresented information on their application. So if the policyholder failed to disclose a history of drug abuse on their application and died from a drug overdose within the contestability period, the insurance company may have grounds to deny the claim. However, if the policyholder died from a drug overdose outside the contestability period and did not misrepresent information on their application, the life insurance policy would generally still pay out to the beneficiaries. That being said, some life insurance policies may have exclusions for deaths related to drug use or other high-risk activities. These exclusions may be specifically listed in the policy or may be implied by the language used in the policy. So if the policyholder died from a drug overdose and the policy has a drug use exclusion, the claim may be denied. It's worth noting that some life insurance policies may also have provisions for accidental death or accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) coverage. If the policyholder had an AD&D rider on their policy and died as a result of a drug overdose that was deemed accidental, the beneficiaries may still be eligible for a partial payout under the AD&D coverage. In summary, whether a drug overdose breaks a life insurance policy depends on the terms of the policy, the cause of death, and the circumstances surrounding the overdose. It's important to carefully review the terms of your life insurance policy to understand any exclusions or limitations related to drug use or other high-risk activities, and to accurately disclose all relevant information on your policy application to avoid potential issues with claim denials.

Answered July 6, 2010 by Anonymous

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