Dutchman
09-19-2001, 06:30 AM
During a discussion at work yesterday the subject came up about life insurance for those murdered at the WTC. The general line was if your killed in an act of war--or terrorism your insurance company will not pay your life insurance policy. I know this is a touchy subject but can anyone clarify if this is so. God I certainly hope not. My thoughts and prayers to all the family's that have been torn apart as a result of this attrocity.....
Jim Ordway
09-19-2001, 10:42 AM
I heard a discussion on TV regarding building insurance. Some policies have a terrorism exclusion as well as the common acts of war exclusions. I guess it depends on the fine print, and perhaps the good will of the insurance companies. I have been hearing that Loyds of London, which is a coinsurer, and many others are gearing up for big losses, so I would guess that many do not have the terrorism exclusion... yet. As far as life insurance I don't even know what my own reads! Guess I should look.
I would hope, as I am sure you do, that these good folks and their families are helped in any way possible. The life rebuilding process for their families and loved ones is much greater than I could ever fathom. Each bit of news that follows this tragedy draws us all deeper into the human misery it has caused. God bless them all.
Jim Ordway
Jim Ordway
09-19-2001, 02:53 PM
Q. I've heard some insurance policies have terrorism" or "acts of war"
exclusions. Do I have these exclusions in my insurance policies?
A. Probably not. Life, auto, and home insurance policies written for the average
individual typically do not contain terrorism exclusions. It's highly unlikely that
many, if any, victims of the tragedy had a policy with an exclusion for the
attacks.
A. Terrorism exclusions are generally written into contracts of military personnel
or those who travel to places where terrorist acts are common. They typically do
not apply when the insured is in the United States. While life insurance policies
have included act-of-war exclusions in the past, it hasn't been a standard part of
any life insurance policy since the end of the Vietnam War. However, your
property/casualty insurance policies are indeed written to exclude coverage for
acts of war. If the act-of-war exclusion clause of an insurance contract is
invoked, insurance companies can refuse to pay the benefits on the policies,
including payments on businesses, homes, and cars that are damaged or
destroyed.
A. However, insurers would face some difficult challenges if they did decide to
invoke act-of-war clauses, both legally and as a matter of public opinion,
according to Garrett Moore, a partner at Moore, O'Brien, Jacques, and Yelenak,
a Connecticut law firm focusing on airline litigation. "The public response would
be absolutely devastating to insurance companies," says Moore. "And there
may be legal barriers even if they did decide they wanted to invoke act-of-war
clauses."