Man says life insurance won’t pay out for parents who died weeks apart

CHARLOTTE — A man says his mother and stepfather died just weeks apart and because they hadn’t had their life insurance policies for very long, the company won’t pay.

Marcus Tillman says his mother suddenly passed away from heart failure on Dec. 21 last year.

“We thought she was in pristine health. She didn’t smoke. She didn’t drink or anything. And just suddenly she just, everything just went downhill,” he said.

He says his stepfather’s health had been failing for months and that he died a few weeks later.

“Suddenly, life changed for me. Like instantly,” he said. “I never expected to have to go through something like this. Especially with both parents at the same time. It’s just been a crazy moment.”

He says they had life insurance but only bought it about a year and a half ago so, the company wouldn’t pay out. “I thought they would cover it and we got hit with the surprise and now we [are] just overtaken by that,” he said.

Almost all life insurance policies have a “contestability period.” It’s usually two years. If the policyholder passes away during that period, the company is likely to deny the claim to prevent insurance fraud.

Tillman says his stepfather’s family had him cremated and took his ashes back to his hometown, but that his mother is still at the funeral home, almost three months after her death.

He says he was counting on the life insurance money to bury her but now he’s counting on a GoFundMe instead.

“It’s been a roller coaster. I’ve just been trying to hold it together and it’s been so overwhelming,” he said.

Tillman told Action 9 investigator Jason Stoogenke that he wants to make sure people know about that “contestability period.”

But remember, even if the policyholder dies within the time period, it doesn’t mean the insurer definitely won’t pay. Some will. That’s one more reason it’s critical to always tell the truth on your insurance application.

Stoogenke called and emailed the insurance company, Prosperity Life Group, multiple times since mid-February, but no one responded in time for this report.

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