Life insurance is intended to provide your loved ones with financial stability if you were to pass away. However, there are many loopholes and conditions that could potentially nullify your insurance payout, leaving your family without the money they need to cover your funeral expenses. One of the most notorious of these is drunk driving. In many cases, insurance companies won’t pay out to your beneficiaries if you are killed while driving intoxicated. Here’s what you need to know about this life insurance clause.
Why won’t insurance companies pay for someone killed while drunk driving?
Insurance companies consider deaths from drunk driving to be self-inflicted. Because it is widely known that driving drunk can lead to accidents, causing injuries and potentially death, the logic is that if you get in the car drunk, you know there is a considerable risk that you could die. Insurance companies usually will not pay the benefits if it is determined that the death was self-inflicted. This is to prevent insurance fraud – insurers do not want people to take out significant insurance policies and then intentionally kill themselves so that their beneficiaries will get a large sum of money.
There is some controversy over drunk driving deaths being considered self-inflicted. There have even been lawsuits surrounding this controversy. However, insurance companies maintain that there is enough information available publicly about the risks of drunk driving and that policyholders should know that it is dangerous. They want to do everything they can to deter people from driving drunk, which is essential.
What should I do if my loved one’s insurance claim was denied?
It’s very frustrating if you are the beneficiary of an insurance policy that has been denied because of drunk driving. To have the insurance company label the death as self-inflicted when it wasn’t intentional is extremely upsetting. You do have some options to contest a denied insurance claim. If you can, you should hire a lawyer to help with the appeals process. Although you can appeal a denied life insurance claim by yourself, it’s beneficial to have someone who is experienced and understands the legality of insurance policies. They can help you contest the policy in the most effective way possible. Be sure to gather any evidence that could support your case as soon as possible. You should also take detailed notes of any experiences that might be relevant. The life insurance appeals process can take a long time, and collecting relevant details will ensure that nothing gets lost to memory.
Important Tips To Avoid Drunk Driving
First and most importantly, you should always avoid drunk driving. Not only is it perilous, but if you die as a result of it, it could cause problems for your family later on. Driving drunk impairs your reaction time and ability to make decisions. It lowers your inhibitions, which means that you are prone to making more reckless choices on the road. All of these things mean you are more likely to get into an accident.
If you are attending an event where you will be drinking, make sure you have another form of transportation. Have someone in your group avoid drinking and be the designated driver for the night. If you are the designated driver, you should never drive when you have more than the legal limit in your system. Depending on what state you are in, this usually means you shouldn’t have more than one alcoholic beverage in your system when you are driving. In the best-case scenarios, you should avoid drinking entirely if you know you are going to be driving.
There are many alternate forms of transportation you can use if you know you are going to be drinking and need to get home. Rideshare services like Uber and Lyft are affordable and convenient in most major cities. In large cities like New York, you can also hail a cab on the street. Another great option is to take public transit if it’s available to you. It’s very affordable and will prevent you from getting in an accident. If you live close to the event you plan on attending, consider walking. It’s free, it saves gas, and most importantly, it will prevent you from getting in a drunk driving accident.
If you are at home and have been drinking, but need to go out to run an errand, there are a few other options you can consider. If you have a friend or family member who can run the errand for you, ask them to do it, or wait until you have sobered up. Think about how urgent the errand is – is it worth risking your life? If you want to go out and pick up food, consider getting delivery instead. With services like Postmates and DoorDash, you can get a wide variety of meals delivered to you. Keeping all of these things in mind when you drink can help prevent a fatal drunk driving accident.
