Can your beneficiary collect life-insurance benefits after your suicide?

• I have done some research on this and it seems most life-insurance companies have a suicide clause, which states that they will NOT pay if you commit suicide within two years of getting your policy. After two years, you are free to contact Dr. Kevorkian. It is always better to check with your insurance company, although I would do that discreetly.

• Life insurance is regulated by the various states, not by the federal government. It is deemed to be contrary to public interest to encourage suicide by making insurance proceeds available to those who see no way out of their financial difficulties. So insurance companies usually prohibit claims when suicide is the cause of death... they consider that the contract is void and refund premiums to the owner of the policy (who usually died along with the insured). Insurance companies' actuarial tables, upon which they base their premiums, exclude suicides, so to expect companies to pay up for suicide prevents them from pricing policies correctly, and allows the public to avoid paying higher prices because of such selfish acts. State insurance law limits the period of this exclusion, so that if a person was sufficiently rational when they took out the policy, they are not penalized if later on they become despondent. Usually, this suicide exclusion allows insurance companies to void contracts if suicide occurs within two years of the policy date. It's considered that this will sufficiently discourage someone from initiating a policy with the intent to later commit suicide. The rare person who can maintain their determination to die can in fact deliver money upon their death to their beneficiaries.

• Life insurance isn't designed to cover the taking of one's own life. Insurance policies will not pay if the insured commits suicide within the first two years after the policy issue date. After two years, the proceeds will be paid for suicide. The reason for this is that most people who wish to commit suicide will not wait two years to do so.

• Most private insurance policies have a 2-year suicide exclusion period. After that, the policy must pay the benefit regardless of manner of death.

• The exception to the 2-year suicide clause is that some employer-provided group life policies do not contain such a clause. The rationale is simple: Employees are provided several "free" benefits as a way of retaining quality people and most employees who would consider suicide would not bother with going out and consider purchasing a life insurance policy, knowing full well that there would be no death benefit within the first two years of having the policy.

First answer by Kamuna. Last edit by Ttj2009. Contributor trust: 0 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 418 [recommend question]