Former LH Agent Needs Guidance

[Newby]

I cn see why no company would unilaterally release their percentage of claims paid on contestable policies only.. If that number were 80%, the competition agent would be running around telling prospects, "See they only pay 80% of their claims" even though the actual total paid claim number was 99% ---------- The funeral home director has to certify he has the body so no, they won't pay" if there is no body in the funeral home." Several companies over the years have paid out FE claims with a copy of the obituary or a certification from the funeral home.. It is not anything new. And, don't fool yourself that companies will always pay a small claim because it is cheaper than going to court. It doesn't cost them all that much as they have the attorney's either on salary or retainer so they are paying them anyway and court costs are minimal in small claims court which only have to be paid by them if they loose..

You are spot on and that's what I've been preaching for years. No other company will release info on claims at all. 99% is great.

Let's say out of 100 claims Settlers Has one contestable one because they underwrite very strictly. And they don't pay it. So they paid 99% of all and 0% of contestable.

Let's say LH has 15 contestable out of 100 and they pay 5 of them. So they paid 90% of all claims and 33% of contestable.

LH agents would easily spin that as better claims paying than Settlers. 33% would look better than 0% But it definitely wouldn't be in reality.

 

[Former LH Agent]

They will pay within 24 hours of death on non contestable claims. Not 24 hours after approval. I sat in a meeting 8 years ago with the president of the FCGS. he told us, and gave us literature, that they would pay within 24 hours of death on any noncontestble claim. Now most of those would be LH since that's their baby but you can have the FCGS without having an LH policy.

That's the same thing that any assignment company will do. The difference is that the assignment company will charge a fee, usually in the 3% range. Most funeral homes absorb the fee. But all do not.

The FCGS gets their fee for that from what LH pays them or in the case of a non LH policy from the $6/mo fee.

So you are telling me that LH is the only insurance company because of FCGS that will pay in 24 non contestble claims and no state certified death certificate needed? But on LH's website "file a claim" the certified death certificate is needed for claim approval!! Show the forum the link because it has to me made public?

 

[bboman23]

You are spot on and that's what I've been preaching for years. No other company will release info on claims at all. 99% is great.

Let's say out of 100 claims Settlers Has one contestable one because they underwrite very strictly. And they don't pay it. So they paid 99% of all and 0% of contestable.

Let's say LH has 15 contestable out of 100 and they pay 5 of them. So they paid 90% of all claims and 33% of contestable.

LH agents would easily spin that as better claims paying than Settlers. 33% would look better than 0% But it definitely wouldn't be in reality.

Is that where you learned how to spin stuff so good?

 

[Iwillpay]

It has nothing to do with them being a great company. But yes, I've had $10K and $15K LH policies that I wrote paid within 24 hours of death. I don't need a link to know what happened. But the FCGS does say exactly that. And that's only with the FCGS. I've also had 5 Star noncontestable claims pay half of the death benefit within 24 hours without a death certificate. Just as they put in writing they will do.

Again, I'm talking about assignment. Not magic. And the policy has to be noncontestable. I just had a death claim on an RNA policyholder. The policy was 5 years old. The family assigned the policy to the funeral home and they were paid the next day. The family still doesn't have the death certificate. It takes 4 to 6 weeks to get a death certificate here.

Happens everyday that policies get paid within 24 hours. if you left LH for that reason then I guess you did leave for the wrong reason?

There's far better reasons to leave LH.

What I understand or at least was told in case of Lincoln Heritage is that if the policy is non contestable (over 2 years) then FCGS for an assignment fee of $100.00 will pay the claim up to the face amount to the Funeral Home.

FCGS will then get paid by Lincoln Heritage (the insurer) when the death certificate is sent in to them. This payment can be done in 24 hours.

Therefore what the OP is saying is true namely LH pays upon receipt of Death certificate.

What JD is saying is true too, but the payment is made by FCGS. and by extension the agent says Lincoln Heritage.

I trust this will clear up the discrepancy in this case.

Would love to hear from other contributors regarding payment of death claims.

 

[jdeasy]

So you are telling me that LH is the only insurance company because of FCGS that will pay in 24 non contestble claims and no state certified death certificate needed? But on LH's website "file a claim" the certified death certificate is needed for claim approval!! Show the forum the link because it has to me made public?

No, I'm not telling you that at all. Every non contestable claim with any company can be paid within 24 hours of death. That's the same thing I've said in every post about this. I don't know why you are so hung up on LH.

And it's already public. You seem to be the only person that doesn't know this. And you keep getting hung up on "claim approval". It's about assignment, not approval. The claim is going to be approved if it's out of contestability. The assignment company is just fronting the money for a fee.

I can't believe you don't understand this discussion.

 

[Newby]

Is that where you learned how to spin stuff so good?

It's called math. Most states teach it in school.

 

[bboman23]

It's called math. Most states teach it in school.

Not Mississippi

 

[HoosierLife]

Not Mississippi

At least they teach you that cool jingle on how to spell your state.

 

[Newby]

If I was a client and I looked on LH website and click file a claim and it clearly tells you what you need to file a claim. The original policy and a certified death certificate period. That could take 30 days so 24 is out the window. I understand that all insurance companies will pay in 24 hours after claim approval which includes the state certified death certificate. But many captive agents are trained to tell them that the policy will pay out in 24 hours after death. Basically your "word" is proof of a claim.

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NGL is great they use a trust

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I can abode photo copy obituaries etc. insurance companies work with state to ensure death and no fraud. The carriers don't use that anymore.

You are complicating it too much it's simple.

Companies that do pre-need insurance policies (LH used to have those) ALL pay their non-contestible claims within 24 to 48 hours of notification from a funeral home. That's the only way any of them has ever done it for the past 25 years. There is no death certificate needed. It's the only way that it's done. I don't know what other proof you need. Some Pre-need companies are even faster than that. Homesteaders Life just gives check books to the funeral homes for them to write their own check and take it to the bank and deposit it any time they receive a body.

Some of those companies handle their FE claims the same way. LH is one of those. FCGS has nothing to do with it. They were doing it that way before they invented the FCGS. They had to because every competitor in the business also does it that way.

And what JD is trying to explain is that any company that does NOT pay claims like that can be assigned to a funeral funding assignment company (many to choose from) and they will pay the claim within 24 hours with no death certificate needed and they will wait to be reimbursed by the insurance company after the claim is paid. If you have to use an assignment company they will charge around 3% of the policy advance for this.

Yes I am a funeral director and yes I have been involved with many death claims. JD is right. In Kentucky death certificates take a month to get. No funeral home waits on those to get their money.

 

[sirherbie]

I actually went to a funeral yesterday and I know the owner of FH. He said they use homesteaders life. He alsosaid the commission was great. So lets say a 58 yr old guy Buys a $10k preneed policy paid up in 10 yrs and the premium is $100 a month for 10 yrs. About what does the agent make and what does the funeral home override? Does the agent make any renewals in yrs 2-10 and if so are they greater than a regular Fe policy?