Does the death of a policy holder instantly terminate the validity of their policy?

24-06-2022 09:29PM #1

Tricky one here:

Father in law died suddenly earlier this month. His wife, my mother in law is the named driver on his policy. She's still driving the car (they live in a rural area) and my wife doesn't want to upset her further by telling her that she has to stop. We don't want to contact the insurance company just now, and I assume that they won't discuss things with us due to GDPR issues.

Are we right to assume that the insurance policy immediately became invalid after the policy holder died? Thanks.

Ignacius · 24-06-2022 10:21PM

It depends on the insurer whether they will just transfer the policy into her name. You need to contact the insurance company. They will ask name, address and dob. It is usually the executor who does this and if there is no will it needs to be his wife. Sorry and best of luck.

leex · 24-06-2022 10:27PM

I had to contact Aviva last year when my wife died. They told me that cover was in place until expiry date. I remained named driver. I sold car before expiry time and received refund to estate for unused months. I also have my own car so was no requirement to transfer the policy.

RustyMam · 24-06-2022 10:29PM

Number of years ago my father died and I was a named driver on his insurance policy.

Executor contacted the insurance company and policy remained in place pending probate being dealt with ie car being disposed of. There was even the possibility of renewing the policy although based on the risk profile of my father.

Worth the executor contacting the insurance company.

Jim2007 · 24-06-2022 10:57PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058251625/does-the-death-of-a-policy-holder-instantly-terminate-the-validity-of-their-policy

So do you think it would be better for her to have an accident, discover she is uninsured and end up loose a large hunk of the estate paying compensation to the victim of the accident? Sort out her insurance PDQ and don’t leave her in such a state.

25-06-2022 10:43AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119246267#Comment_119246267

If that was my approach then I'd hardly have asked the question on Boards.ie, would I? Unfortunately, the constraints of GDPR mean that I'm not in a position to "sort out" her insurance, and the bereaved widow (who is also executrix) isn't in a condition to do so.

Sincere thanks to the three other responders for their constructive and helpful responses.

spurious · 25-06-2022 11:07AM

Ring the insurance company to inform them of the death - they may ask for a certificate.

Have your mother in law beside you when you ring. They will say they want to deal with her, but she can tell them she wants you to be her agent and they will deal with you in the future. They record all the phone calls so it will be on record.

Ger Roe · 25-06-2022 11:15AM

My father died within weeks of renewing his policy and it remained in force until the company received a copy of his death cert. I actually tried to cancel it quickly and get a refund , but the company said they could not do so until they were provided with a copy of the death cert, signed by a notary, and they also wanted a copy of his will.

They said that if the car was listed as an asset in any will, they would have to cover it for at least fire and theft until the terms of the will had been complied with. The cover would remain in force to protect the asset until then. They said this was being done in the interests of the policyholder .... who as I explained to them....was dead.

I sent them a copy of the death cert, without notary signing, saying that this was the proof that banks and government offices needed from me to sort out other aspects and so it was all they were going to get. I was in no mood to go looking for a notary and they were certainly not getting a copy of the will.

A cheque for the refund was received within two weeks.

As RustyMam mentioned above.. get the executor to contact the insurance company and start the process of closing down the original policy and opening a new one. It is not as easy as you might first think to cancel a policy on the death of the holder. They will talk you through what has to be done.

25-06-2022 01:49PM

Thanks guys. Problem is that it takes a few months to get a death cert. Unless the Insurance Company is agreeable to accepting the RIP.ie notice - which Social Welfare are (probably because it saves them paying out money!)

Eggs For Dinner · 25-06-2022 11:29PM

Insurers will not need to see a death certificate. Talk to them, every insurer is very accommodating in these circumstances

Masala · 25-06-2022 11:33PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119248050#Comment_119248050

Why months to get a Cert. We sorted within 2 weeks.....

26-06-2022 11:21AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119250390#Comment_119250390

HSE website: "Due to coronavirus (COVID 19) we are experiencing a high volume of orders and the dispatch turnaround time has increased from 10 to 60. We wish to apologise for any inconvenience caused."

NUTLEY BOY · 29-06-2022 11:51AM

AFAIK some policy wordings will indemnify the legal personal representatives of the policyholder. However, it is best to get confirmation of the position from the insurers as wordings vary.

Also, if you get a satisfactory response the insurers, make sure that it is in writing before relying on it.

Drunken Oaf · 02-07-2022 08:14PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119250390#Comment_119250390

I'd to register a death recently, was given an appointment of 3 months away! Had to go to Drogheda as it and I believe Navan are the only 2 offices that allow walk ins.

Usual nonsense, the usual excuse for any poor service these days "Covid backlog, HSE hack". They'll be using those excuses a decade from now.

Does the death of a policy holder instantly terminate the validity of their policy?

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