
Georgia Life Insurance Lawyer
Life Insurance Lawyers Serving All 159 Georgia Counties
Christian Lassen, Esq. | 25 Years Experience | Hundreds of Millions Recovered
If your life insurance claim was denied in Georgia, you're not alone and you're not without options. At The Lassen Law Firm, we focus exclusively on life insurance litigation and have helped families throughout Georgia recover millions in wrongfully denied death benefits. Whether your case involves a policy lapse, misrepresentation allegation, exclusion clause, or a contested beneficiary, we have the experience to challenge the denial and pursue the full payout.
Led by nationally recognized life insurance attorney Christian Lassen, quoted by The Wall Street Journal and rated 10.0 by AVVO, our firm represents clients statewide. We handle denied life insurance claims in all 159 Georgia counties, and we never charge a fee unless we recover for you.
Denied Life Insurance Claim in Georgia? You’re Not Alone.
In Georgia, it’s not unusual for insurers to withhold life insurance payouts by pointing to technicalities or vague policy terms. If you're dealing with a life insurance payout denial in Georgia, The Lassen Law Firm can help you challenge the insurer’s decision and recover the benefits you’re entitled to.
In Georgia, life insurance beneficiary disputes can become complex when there are conflicting claims, outdated designations, or questions about the policyholder’s intent. If you're involved in a life insurance beneficiary dispute in Georgia, The Lassen Law Firm is ready to protect your interests and help resolve the matter fairly.
In Georgia, life insurance companies may file an interpleader action in Georgia when they receive conflicting beneficiary claims, shifting the decision to the court while avoiding direct liability.
Life insurance claims in Georgia can become complex, especially when dealing with denied payouts or bad faith practices. At The Lassen Law Firm, we proudly serve clients across the Peach State, offering trusted guidance and expert legal support.
As experienced life insurance attorneys handling cases nationwide, our results speak for themselves, with hundreds of millions in policies recovered. At The Lassen Law Firm, we combine unmatched dedication, knowledge, and personalized attention to ensure your rights are protected. Call now for a free consultation to see if we can help you recover your life insurance benefits. No obligation.
Unlike other firms, The Lassen Law Firm exclusively handles denied life insurance claims. With 25 years of experience in this niche, we are recognized as top experts in the field. Our lawyers have earned prestigious awards, including membership in the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum and a 10.0 rating on AVVO. No other firm offers the same level of dedication and expertise in denied life insurance cases.
Fighting Life Insurance Denials in Georgia to Protect Families
When a life insurance company denies a claim, it can leave a grieving family in financial turmoil. In Georgia, beneficiaries are often blindsided by unexpected denials, complex policy language, or demands for additional documentation. If your life insurance claim has been delayed, reduced, or denied altogether, you are not alone, and you have legal options. Our Georgia life insurance attorneys help beneficiaries fight back and recover the full benefits owed to them under the law. If you’re facing a denied accidental death claim in Georgia, don’t navigate the appeals process alone, legal support can make a critical difference.
Insurance companies frequently prioritize their own profits over the promises made to policyholders. They may comb through applications looking for technicalities, misapply exclusions, or wrongfully allege that coverage lapsed. Having an experienced advocate on your side can make the difference between a denied claim and a full recovery. We offer free consultations and handle life insurance disputes on a contingency fee basis, meaning you pay nothing unless we win.
The Role of the Contestability Period in Georgia Life Insurance Claims
Life insurance policies issued in Georgia usually include a two-year contestability period. During this time, insurers can investigate claims closely and rescind policies if they uncover material misstatements made during the application process. After the contestability period expires, insurers must honor the policy unless they can prove fraud.
A key point: not every mistake on an application justifies denial. Only material misrepresentations, those that would have influenced the insurer’s decision to issue the policy or determine its terms, are grounds for rescinding coverage. Minor errors or irrelevant omissions typically cannot be used to deny benefits under Georgia law.
If your claim was denied based on contestability issues, it’s essential to work with an attorney who can hold the insurer accountable to the true standards imposed by Georgia law.
Common Reasons Life Insurance Claims Are Denied in Georgia
Insurers often cite a wide range of reasons for denying life insurance claims. In Georgia, the most common grounds include:
Initial Application Misstatement
If the insurer believes the insured misrepresented medical history, financial status, or lifestyle habits, they may attempt to void the policy.
Missed Premium Payments and Lapses
In Georgia, many claims are denied on the basis of missed payments, but a policy canceled due to lapse is often the result of miscommunication or mishandled billing by the insurer.
Excluded Causes of Death
Policies may exclude deaths from certain activities such as aviation accidents, risky hobbies, or suicide within a specific period.
Disputed Beneficiary
If multiple people claim to be the rightful beneficiary, insurers may delay payments or file an interpleader lawsuit.
Employer Errors with Group Life Plans
Mistakes made during enrollment or administration can leave families without expected group coverage.
Deaths Under Investigation
Suspicious deaths or criminal investigations often result in lengthy delays as insurers await law enforcement conclusions.
Insurance companies use these reasons to justify denials, but often the denials do not meet legal standards, and can be successfully challenged with the right legal strategy.
What Steps to Take After a Life Insurance Denial in Georgia
Responding quickly to a life insurance denial can protect your rights and improve your chances of success. Here’s what you should do if your claim has been rejected:
- Request a complete copy of the policy, including all endorsements and the application.
- Review the denial letter carefully to understand the insurer’s reasoning.
- Save all communications with the insurer, including emails, letters, and phone call summaries.
- Do not submit new documents or statements without consulting an attorney.
- Contact a Georgia life insurance lawyer immediately to evaluate your case and discuss your options.
In many cases, insurers hope that beneficiaries will accept denials without a fight. Acting swiftly and strategically can prevent the insurer from gaining the upper hand.
How Our Georgia Life Insurance Attorneys Help Families Recover Benefits
At our firm, we focus on protecting beneficiaries when insurance companies fail to live up to their promises. When you trust us with your case, we will:
- Conduct a thorough review of the policy and the insurer’s stated reasons for denial.
- Investigate whether the insurer violated Georgia’s insurance laws or acted in bad faith.
- Develop a strong legal strategy tailored to the unique facts of your case.
- Handle all negotiations with the insurance company, sparing you the stress.
- File appeals or lawsuits when insurers refuse to honor their obligations.
- Pursue additional damages if the insurer’s conduct meets the standards for bad faith under Georgia law.
We understand how critical life insurance benefits are to surviving family members. Our mission is to recover the full value of the policy for you as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Life insurance policies issued through federal programs can be wrongfully denied due to bureaucratic errors or paperwork lapses. We help Georgia families challenge denied Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance claims and denied SGLI claims involving active-duty or retired service members.
Employer-sponsored policies often fall under ERISA, which sets strict rules for claim denials and appeals. If you’re facing a denial under an ERISA life insurance plan in Georgia, our attorneys are prepared to advocate for your rights and recover the benefits you were promised.
Georgia Denied Life Insurance Claims: Answers to Common Questions
My Georgia life insurance claim was denied, what should I do?
Contact a Georgia life insurance attorney immediately. For instance, we recently reversed a denial where an insurer incorrectly blamed the death on an excluded health condition that wasn’t even listed in the application.
I was served with a life insurance interpleader in Georgia, how do I respond?
You must file a legal response. In one case, we defended a beneficiary in Savannah whose late spouse’s ex-wife tried to claim the entire payout during an interpleader action.
I'm dealing with a beneficiary dispute in Georgia. Can I fight for my rightful share?
Yes. We recently helped a daughter in Augusta recover the full benefit after an estranged sibling tried to enforce a suspicious last-minute beneficiary change.
Why do accidental death and dismemberment claims often get denied in Georgia?
Insurers often reclassify accidental deaths as natural causes. We fought a case in Macon where a fatal fall was blamed on heart disease, but forensic evidence proved it was a true accident.
Can a policy lapse result in a denied life insurance claim in Georgia?
Yes, but it’s challengeable. We recovered benefits for a family in Columbus after proving the insurer never sent the required lapse warning notice under Georgia law.
What if the insurance company claims there was misrepresentation on the life insurance application?
They must prove it was intentional and material. In one case, a claim in Alpharetta was denied over an outdated prescription history that had nothing to do with the insured’s death, and we got it overturned.
Can insurers in Georgia use an alcohol exclusion to deny a claim?
Sometimes, but exclusions must be clear and applicable. We forced payment in a Rome case where the insurer denied benefits after a car accident simply because the deceased had alcohol in their system, even though alcohol wasn’t the cause of death.
What should I do about a denied ERISA group life insurance claim in Georgia?
Hire a lawyer immediately. In one ERISA case out of Athens, we overturned a denial by submitting a detailed appeal backed by medical expert reports before litigation was necessary.
My claim was denied because it was within the contestability period, can I fight that?
Yes. We beat a contestability denial in Marietta after proving the alleged misrepresentation (an old minor surgery) had no connection to the cause of death.
The insurer says my claim is invalid due to Georgia state law, what does that mean?
It may not mean anything. We’ve exposed insurers who cited outdated or irrelevant Georgia laws to deny claims unfairly, and recovered full benefits for our clients.
Which life insurance companies deny the most claims in Georgia?
Companies like Aflac, Primerica, and Southern Mutual often appear in denial cases. We've successfully challenged wrongful denials from all three in Atlanta-area cases.
Does Georgia revoke a former spouse’s beneficiary rights after a divorce?
Yes. We helped a client in Roswell invalidate a claim made by an ex-spouse after showing that the policyholder never reaffirmed the designation post-divorce.
Is Georgia a community property state, and does it affect life insurance?
No, but we recently used marital property arguments in Warner Robins to secure a payout for a widow whose deceased husband’s policy premiums had been paid from joint funds.
Can a will override the life insurance beneficiary designation in Georgia?
No. In one case, a family member in Dalton tried to argue that a handwritten will superseded the policy, but the court upheld the original beneficiary designation.
What happens if the policyholder died outside the United States?
We recently overturned a denial in Sandy Springs where an insurer tried to block a claim because the insured died while on vacation in Europe, there was no valid exclusion in the policy.
The beneficiary was changed just before the insured passed away, can that be disputed?
Yes. We successfully challenged a last-minute change in Decatur made while the insured was hospitalized and heavily medicated.
How long is too long for a life insurance company to take in Georgia?
If a valid claim drags beyond 60 days without a reason, it may be bad faith. We secured both the death benefit and additional damages in a Savannah case where payment was delayed for nearly nine months.
Why would an accidental death claim be denied when it clearly wasn’t natural causes?
We beat a denial in Gainesville where an insurer labeled a workplace injury as a "health event" to avoid paying. Medical experts proved it was a traumatic accidental death.
Can an insurance agent’s mistake on the application result in a denial?
It shouldn’t. We recovered benefits in Macon when an agent’s errors about prescription medications were blamed on the policyholder, despite clear evidence the agent was at fault.
Can I file a bad faith lawsuit in Georgia over a denied claim?
Yes. We successfully sued a major insurer in Johns Creek that denied a claim without proper investigation, and won punitive damages for bad faith practices.
How long does a suicide exclusion last in a Georgia life insurance policy?
Typically two years. We reversed a denial in Valdosta after showing that the suicide exclusion had expired before the insured’s death.
Are employer group life insurance policies in Georgia covered by ERISA?
Yes. We won an ERISA case in Smyrna where the insurer improperly denied a claim by misinterpreting a minor clerical error on the beneficiary form.
Can a claim be denied because of an undisclosed health condition?
Only if it’s material. We overturned a denial in Peachtree City where the insurer cited an old sports injury that had no link to the insured’s cause of death.
What if there was no beneficiary listed on the life insurance policy?
The proceeds usually go to the estate. We helped a family claim benefits through Georgia’s probate court in Lawrenceville after no beneficiary was designated.
Can a forged beneficiary change be reversed?
Yes. We recently invalidated a change in Albany after handwriting experts proved a fraudulent signature had been submitted near the time of death.
Can the insurer cancel a policy in Georgia without proper notice?
No. We forced payment on a claim in Douglasville where the insurer never mailed the legally required notice of cancellation to the insured’s last known address.
What if the life insurance was issued through a union or professional association in Georgia?
Union life insurance has special rules. We recently won a dispute involving a police officer’s group policy in Columbus that had been wrongly denied on a technicality.
Can I still receive my portion of the benefit if I’m a co-beneficiary?
Yes. We helped a client in Johns Creek recover their half-share after the other co-beneficiary tried to claim the entire payout through false statements.
The insured disappeared and was declared dead in Georgia, can I file a claim?
Yes. We assisted a family in Atlanta in recovering life insurance proceeds after obtaining a legal presumption of death for a missing person.
Can I still appeal a denial if several months have passed?
Sometimes. We reopened a denied claim in Brookhaven five months after initial rejection by arguing the insurer failed to provide adequate denial notice under Georgia law.
Are life insurance payouts protected from creditors in Georgia?
Generally, yes. We protected a payout in Newnan from being seized during a creditor’s attempt to access estate funds when the beneficiary was properly named.
Can unclear policy terms be used to justify a denial?
No. We forced a payout in Milton after showing that vague policy wording had to be interpreted in favor of the insured under Georgia insurance law.
What if the policy lapsed and the insurer didn’t provide notice?
We reinstated a canceled policy in East Point after proving that the insurer violated Georgia’s notice requirements for pending lapse and cancellation.
Can a minor child be a life insurance beneficiary in Georgia?
Yes, but a guardian may be needed. We helped a grandmother in Duluth secure guardianship to manage her grandchild’s inherited life insurance payout.
What happens when multiple people claim the insured made them promises?
Only the named beneficiary counts. We defeated multiple claims in Carrollton by acquaintances who alleged verbal promises without any supporting legal documents.
Can a claim be denied if the insured died during illegal activity?
Possibly, but the insurer must prove it. We overturned a denial in Hinesville where the alleged "illegal act" wasn’t proven to have caused or contributed to the death.
How long do I have to appeal or challenge a denied life insurance claim in Georgia?
Timelines vary, but for ERISA plans it’s often just 180 days. We recommend contacting a Georgia life insurance attorney immediately upon denial to protect your rights.
Fighting Denied Life Insurance Claims in Georgia: Real Disputes, Real Recoveries
In Georgia, life insurance claim denials often escalate quickly, especially in the Atlanta metro area, where high-dollar policies and complicated family dynamics frequently result in litigation. We’ve handled disputes in both the Northern District of Georgia federal court and local probate courts across Fulton, Cobb, and DeKalb counties. One memorable interpleader case out of Marietta involved a policyholder who named two beneficiaries, his spouse and his adult son from a prior marriage, leading to a bitter courtroom fight that we successfully resolved in favor of our client.
Although Georgia is not a community property state, insurers sometimes attempt to impose spousal consent requirements retroactively, especially in ERISA-regulated employer plans. In Macon, a widow was denied her husband’s group life insurance benefit on the grounds that he allegedly failed to submit final paperwork. Our team uncovered evidence showing the employer had never explained the enrollment process, leading to a full recovery.
Misrepresentation claims are also common in Georgia. We overturned a denial in Savannah where the insurer pointed to a two-pound weight discrepancy on the application as grounds to void a $500,000 policy. The insured died in an accident, and the alleged misstatement was completely unrelated. These kinds of excuses are frequent, particularly during the contestability period, and they often don’t hold up under legal scrutiny.
Federal interpleader actions are another growing trend across Georgia. In Augusta, we represented a daughter who was sued in federal court by an ex-spouse claiming she was still the rightful beneficiary. We prevailed after proving the divorce triggered Georgia’s automatic revocation statute, which nullified the ex-spouse's designation.
Whether your claim was denied for a lapse, a contested beneficiary change, or a vague exclusion clause, our firm is prepared to fight back, anywhere from Gwinnett County to Valdosta.
Contact us today for a free consultation.
Written & Reviewed by Christian Lassen, Esq., Nationally recognized life insurance lawyer: 25 years experience, hundreds of millions recovered. Quoted in The Wall Street Journal ( May 17, 2025).
Last reviewed: June 14, 2025 | Contact 800-330-2274

Why The Lassen Law Firm Is Different


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Representing clients coast to coast and recovering hundreds of millions in denied life insurance claims, we secure justice and peace of mind for families everywhere.
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Perfect 10.0 Avvo rating endorsed by over 1,700 attorneys; life member of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum; ranked among the top 1 percent of lawyers nationally for life insurance litigation.
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No upfront fees: our contingency fee guarantee aligns our interests with yours; we provide personalized, compassionate representation from your initial consultation through resolution.
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Quoted in The Wall Street Journal and featured in leading legal publications; frequent speaker at national conferences; dedicated to charitable efforts supporting pediatric cancer care.
