After a life insurance claim is denied, beneficiaries are often surprised to receive a new request from the insurer. The letter sounds cooperative. It may even suggest that signing a short affidavit could help move the claim forward.
In reality, these affidavits often create more problems than they solve.
Why Insurers Ask for Affidavits After a Denial
Once a denial is issued, the insurer already has a theory of why the claim should not be paid. Affidavits are rarely requested to clarify innocent facts. They are requested to lock the beneficiary into statements that support that theory.
The insurer is no longer investigating neutrally. It is building a record that can survive appeal or litigation.
The timing matters. If the affidavit were truly necessary, it would have been requested before the denial.
How These Affidavits Are Framed
Insurer affidavits are often presented as simple confirmations. The language may appear factual and harmless.
In practice, the questions are carefully worded. They may ask the beneficiary to confirm knowledge of the insured’s health, habits, finances, or intent. They may require statements about what the insured knew, believed, or failed to disclose.
These are not neutral facts. They are legal conclusions disguised as routine paperwork.
The Problem With Certainty After Death
Affidavits frequently require beneficiaries to swear to matters they cannot truly know. No spouse, child, or executor can reliably testify about every medical discussion or every application answer.
By signing, beneficiaries are forced to guess or assume. Those assumptions can later be portrayed as admissions.
What feels like cooperation can quickly become ammunition.
How Affidavits Are Used Against Claimants
Once signed, affidavits become part of the claim file. Insurers quote them selectively in appeal denials and court filings.
If the affidavit contains even minor inaccuracies, the insurer may argue that the beneficiary lacks credibility. If it contradicts medical records or application language, the insurer will almost always rely on the affidavit rather than the explanation behind it.
Even when the affidavit is accurate, it can narrow arguments and foreclose alternative theories later.
ERISA Claims and Record Lock In
In ERISA governed life insurance cases, affidavits are especially dangerous. The administrative record often closes after the appeal.
A poorly worded affidavit can permanently shape that record. Courts reviewing ERISA claims typically limit themselves to what is already in the file.
Once an affidavit is submitted, it cannot be undone.
Why Insurers Downplay the Risk
Insurers rarely explain the consequences of signing an affidavit. The request is framed as routine. The beneficiary is told it is voluntary but helpful.
What is not explained is that the affidavit is drafted by the insurer’s lawyers or claims professionals. It is designed to protect the company, not the claimant.
There is a reason insurers prefer sworn statements over open ended explanations.
When an Affidavit Might Be Appropriate
Not every affidavit request is improper. In limited situations, a carefully drafted affidavit can clarify a narrow factual issue.
The difference lies in who controls the language and the scope. An affidavit should never be signed simply because the insurer asks for it. It should be evaluated in the context of the denial and the broader claim strategy.
Silence is often safer than certainty.
The Takeaway for Beneficiaries
Signing an insurer drafted affidavit after a denial is rarely harmless. It can lock in facts, create admissions, and undermine future arguments.
Beneficiaries should treat these requests as legal events, not administrative chores. Once a statement is sworn, it becomes part of the case whether the claim is appealed or litigated.
The hidden risk is not what the affidavit says on its face. It is how it will be used later.