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Presumption of death

Some times circumstances are such that a person might disappear and there is no body found.   For example if it is alleged that the life insured was a passenger in an airliner that crashed into the sea.   In these circumstances death might be assumed on receiving confirmation from the airline that the life insured was on the passenger list and that the plane was lost with total loss of life.

The claimant can apply to the court for an order presuming death. The court will have to be satisfied that all enquiries have been made particularly with those who would have been most likely to have heard from the life if they had been alive.

If it is important to establish actual date of death within the seven year [period then that will need to be done based on the best available evidence.

It is not always necessary to wait seven years before approaching the court. In some cases, depending on the circumstances, the court may be willing to find that death is presumed.   An example could be where a ship has gone missing. The personal representatives can not get their grant of representation until the court has given them leave to swear the death.

Cause of death

The life office will need to check the cause of death on the death certificate as it is possible that the cause may be an excluded cause of death.  If the death occurred only a short period after the policy was issued then the life office should also consider non disclosure if death resulted from a pre existing injury or illness. If the life office suspects that a problem may exist then they should investigate the claim further. They may need to see the deceased medical records which are permitted under the Access to Health Records Act 1990 so long as the life office has the written authority of the deceased personal representative.

 Life offices will normally only repudiate a claim for non disclosure if the material fact which was not disclosed was a factor in the claim. If the life office wish to decline the claim they will need to have evidence to support that declinature.   It must also be remembered that the life office may well be dealing with the claimant who has lost a dear one.

Foreign death certificates do not always show the cause of death and medical evidence may be required in order to validate the claim.   For foreign claims the place of death should be checked to make certain is ties up with the policy coverage.