Can You Collect Life Insurance If Someone Kills Themselves. Most life insurance policies operate by a contestability clause which means that the insurance company will not pay out if the policyholder commits suicide within two years of purchasing life insurance. It is also deemed to be against the public interest to allow “a reward” for suicide.
However, most life insurance policies have what's called a suicide clause: Commissions on the sales of life insurance are impressive, often as high as 45 or even 50 percent of the annual premium for the policy. We already briefly discussed that many life insurance policies won’t pay out if someone commits suicide.
Can You Collect Life Insurance If Someone Kills Themselves
If the policy has a suicide clause and death is the result of suicide before that clause expires, it’s highly unlikely a claim would be honored and the death benefit paid. This span of time is usually two years. We already briefly discussed that many life insurance policies won’t pay out if someone commits suicide. Death by suicide, however, is not covered in the first one to two years of most life insurance policies.