Some common legal terms and definitions:
Accidental death: A case where death was unintentional due to an accident or disaster which is usually covered under a specific clause of life insurance
Beneficiary: The person who receives the assets and monetary awards of the deceased, usually named in writing in both will and the insurance policy
Coverage: The amount and extent of protection against disaster covered by an insurer
Delay: A common insurance company tactic, delays may include dodging your calls, asking you to submit more forms or other actions that unreasonably put off payment
Life Insurance Denial: Refusal to pay policy benefits to a beneficiary, usually citing material misrepresentation as the reason for denial
Lapse: A period of time where the policyholder is not covered, usually due to lack of payment
Policy: A legally binding contract between an insurance company and a policyholder
Policyholder: The person named on an insurance policy
Premium: A set amount paid per month to the insurance company by the policyholder for continuation of coverage
Settlement: An agreement reached between two parties without the necessity of going to trial, and also a term for the sum of money paid to the grieving party
Will: A legal document outlining a person’s wishes regarding distribution of property, estate and assets after death
Wrongful death: A case where negligence or potentially harmful actions resulted in the death of another person
