What Is Double Indemnity Insurance In A Personal Injury Case?

Double Indemnity Insurance policies are often a part of accidental death claims. Settling a personal injury or accidental death case often involves making an insurance claim. The injured party is entitled to get money for injuries caused by the accident. This may be a driver’s automobile insurance policy that pays compensation for injuries caused in a car wreck. Other times it may involve a homeowner’s insurance policy or truck accident policies that involves an accidental death claim. One type of insurance is called double indemity policy. This is often found when someone is killed in a tragic accident or other accidental death claim. A double indemnity insurance policy contains a provision in the insurance contract that says that the insurance company will pay double the amount of the life insurance coverage offered by the policy when the named insured dies in an accident.

What Does Double Indemnity Mean?

In legal terms, indemnity is a payment of money to satisfy an amount owed. When a hurricane destroys someone’s home, and they have hurricane insurance that promises to indemnify them for their losses, the insurance company typically will indemnify them when they pay compensation for the damages suffered due to the storm. To indemnify someone for losses is to pay financial compensation equal to the amount they’ve lost, as nearly as the law can calculate the damages in financial terms. 

A double indemnity policy is just like it sounds–it pays double the amount the policy promises to pay in the event of a covered loss on certain conditions. Usually, the double indemnity clause of a life insurance policy comes into effect when there is an accidental death. The policy agrees to pay a certain amount if the covered person dies of natural causes and will pay double that amount if they die due to an serouse accident.

What Is An Accident That Qualifies For Double Indemnity Insurance?

Each insurance policy is unique, and they all have their own terms and conditions. Still, a double indemnity policy generally promises to pay double the amount due on the life insurance policy in the event of an accidental death. So, a double indemnity clause must involve a wrongful death injury claim. But what sort of accident or event must be involved in causing the victim’s death to qualify for the double indemnity provision of the contract?

An accident is generally described in the law as an unforeseen event caused by someone’s negligent actions. A car crash, for example, fits the definition of an ‘accident,’ and so a fatal car crash would usually qualify for the type of accident that would invoke a double indemnity policy payment. A severe injury at someone’s home that leads to death is also the type of accident that usually qualifies for a double indemnity payout.

Issues With Double Indemnity Policies

Insurance companies are in business to make money, so they don’t just hand out checks to anyone who asks. Often, policyholders must put together a lot of evidence to convince the company to pay the policy limits. If the insurance company fights hard enough against paying amounts due, the case may become an insurance bad faith claim. This means the company is acting against the policyholder’s interests to wrongfully withhold money due on the policy. A skilled bad faith injury attorney can help to hold the company to their responsibilities under the policy.

More Interesting Personal Injury News From Our Tulsa Lawyers Blog

Tulsa, Okla. Injury Lawyers

Getting full payment on a double indemnity insurance contract may involve complex negotiations with the insurance company. Sometimes it may even require litigation to get what’s owed to you. An experienced insurance attorney at Kania Law Office can help you understand your rights. Our Tulsa personal injury attorneys have recovered millions of dollars for our clients throughout Oklahoma. Recovering insurance proceeds shouldn’t be hard but many times it is. Call us at 918-743-2233 or contact us online to schedule an initial consultation.