That Reminds Me!

My last post was my 911th and like most of us when I see those numbers I flash back to 9/11 and the horror of that day.

I got a lot of calls from clients in the following few months asking basically the same question, “does my policy pay if I die due to an act of war or terrorism?” The answer was and is yes, you are covered.

I can remember a time when life insurance policies did have an “act of war” clause that got the insurance company out of having to pay death benefits. It was meant to protect the insurance companies from the inordinately high mortality rates that occurred during World War II and the Vietnam war. I don’t remember exactly when it happened, but I’m sure some conscientious legislator somewhere decided that insurance companies ought to just suck it up and do the right thing.

Bottom line. There are no more war clauses in modern day policies and even if you had an antique policy with a war clause, the likelihood that an insurance company would try to get out of paying the benefit is unlikely. Bad press!