Changing a beneficiary after the date of death

by Guest » Wed May 16, 2012 07:21 am
Guest

A good friend of mine passed away in June 2007 from cancer and took out a cancer policy and named me as the beneficiary. Her executor who is also her cousin and in the will had the beneficiary legally changed in October 2007. How does that happen?

Also, does anyone know why you have a beneficiary on a cancer policy since they really only pay for bills and prescriptions from cancer treatments?

Total Comments: 4

Posted: Thu May 17, 2012 11:32 am Post Subject:

Her executor who is also her cousin and in the will had the beneficiary legally changed in October 2007. How does that happen?


IT DOES NOT HAPPEN. Period. My question is: Why has this become a question almost five years after the fact?

Also, does anyone know why you have a beneficiary on a cancer policy since they really only pay for bills and prescriptions from cancer treatments?


There would only be a beneficiary if there were a death benefit.

Posted: Thu May 17, 2012 05:47 pm Post Subject:

Don't trust my answers on this. I am just thinking out loud.

This is not a death benefit. This is money owed because of the cancer. A beneficiary is used because the payout doesn't have to go to the insured and because it is a reimbursement and since cancer can be deadly, it is very possible that the payout will occur after death.

Posted: Fri May 18, 2012 10:39 am Post Subject:

A person makes his beneficiary so that if anything mishap occurs to him, which may not keep him in the moving state, so at least the beneficiary may get the funds and benefits from the insurance company and regarding the change of the beneficiary, it is only possible if the person who is insured may desire to change, otherwise it cannot be changed after his death. There would have been some misconception.

Posted: Tue May 22, 2012 02:02 am Post Subject:

ronekenn's first language is not English, and is probably not in the US. I would not trust most of what he posts.

On the other hand, famvarum, makes a good point about the possibility of a policy benefit being paid after the death of an insured. But, it is not to a "beneficiary". It would only be payable to the estate of the decedent or, possibly, to another person under a "facility of payment" provision in which the insurer agrees to reimburse a person who has paid a bill for a covered expense on behalf of an insured. Most policies and some states' laws limit such reimbursements to $1,000 for any one covered expense.

The OP's statement about someone changing a named beneficiary long after an insured's death is simply unbelievable. An insurance company that permitted such an act would be exposing itself to huge liabilities and regulatory sanctions.

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