When someone passes away, if they have taken out a life insurance policy it will be time for the life insurer to pay out to the beneficiaries. The question is, how long will the life insurance company take to pay out?

If the investigation process runs smoothly, the payout should be no more than two weeks after the death of the deceased. When the deceased passes away, the life insurance company will usually do an investigation into the cause of death. This is very important with regards to the life policy clauses. If the insured person was only covered for accidental deaths but passed away of a non accidental reason then the life insurance company does not have to pay out. This is what the investigation is all about. The insurance company investigates whether or not the death was a suicide or if it was intended on appearing to be one. If this is the case, many insurance companies will not pay out, as they usually have a suicide clause in the policy. Normally, if the policy has been in effect for less than two years, they will not pay out for a suicide death. Thereafter there may be limits to the coverage if the death was a suicide.

It is important, as a beneficiary, to ensure that you are aware of the clauses in the life insurance policy of the deceased who named you as a beneficiary. The life insurance company is usually, by law, not allowed to take more than 30 days for the investigation, but if they come across any problems, they are allowed to extend that time period by another 30 days. If there are any hiccups in the insurance claim, such as people disputing the policy, there could be a delay. A payout can be delayed for longer than expected due to disputes over the policy specifications, and various other reasons pertaining to the investigation.

It is imperative that you, as the life insurance policy holder, have made sure that all angles of your policy are taken care of. Ensure that you have written up a Last Will and Testament clearly stating what you would like done with your life insurance policies when you have passed away, so that there are not any problems when you are gone. If you can, ensure that you are covered for both accidental and disease related deaths, so that you will be covered no matter how you pass away.

You need to always take the necessary measures to ensure that your life insurance policy is properly in place so that there are no problems in the claim process. If you have been paying towards it every month you will undoubtedly want it to work out smoothly when you have passed away.