Suicide: When Is It Covered

Suicide: When Is It Covered
We've all seen this scenario before, either in a movie or on the evening news. A spouse, distraught over his or her family's crushing financial burden, decides to commit suicide so that the surviving family members can collect his or her life insurance benefits. For Jimmy Stewart in It's a Wonderful Life, his intended act of suicide was halted through the intervention of a guardian angel and everyone lived happily ever after. Unfortunately, this is not the way the story ends for families living in the real world.

What really happens to a family in the aftermath of a suicide attempt can be many times more devastating than the original circumstances that led to the attempt. If the attempt is successful, then the survivors may be left with a double tragedy. Not only have they lost a loved one, but what if the relevant life insurance policy will not pay benefits in the event of a suicide? Now the surviving family members are looking at even more debt because of funeral and burial costs and the deceased's lost income.

If the suicide attempt is unsuccessful and there is no lasting injury, then the disturbed individual and his or her family are very lucky. There is no loss of a loved one and psychological counseling can be sought. Most health insurance policies will even pay for the treatment. If, on the other hand, a suicide attempt leaves the individual physically incapacitated permanently or for an extended period of time, this could spell even greater financial disaster for the affected family members. If the individual is also the primary wage earner, then the family has lost its major source of income (along with any attendant benefits) and must pay for physical care that may not be covered by any insurance policies.

The information that follows gives a brief overview of different insurance policies and what they will or will not cover in the case of a suicide or suicide attempt.

Suicide Coverage

The desperate soul who rushes out to buy an insurance policy and then immediately commits suicide is misguided in two respects: first, he or she should have sought help from a mental health professional for assistance in dealing with such self-destructive thoughts; and, second, the life insurance policy won't pay if the suicide is committed immediately after its purchase.

Most life insurance policies have a suicide clause. Either death resulting from suicide is not covered at all or a death resulting from suicide is covered only after two years have passed since the date of the policy's purchase. Why the two-year period? It's thought that a clause that excludes suicide as a valid cause of death in the first two years of the policy's life will stop someone contemplating suicide from buying the policy on impulse. There's no immediate benefit, so they won't buy the policy. Even if a person intent on committing suicide does buy a policy, the chances that they will still want to end their life after waiting two years is slim. There are life insurance policies that do not exclude suicide at all, but most of these plans are prohibitively expensive.

Coverage for Suicide Attempts

The most relevant type of insurance coverage for someone who has survived a suicide attempt is health insurance. Obviously, someone who attempts suicide is in need of psychological help and many health insurance plans will pay for this. Some families might be hesitant to use this benefit because of the stigma attached to suicide and may be concerned that word of the family member's mental health problems will become the subject of workplace gossip. Fortunately, those who handle and view insurance claims in an office are bound to strict rules of confidentiality and are prohibited from discussing any worker's medical or psychological condition. The family can seek treatment and know that word of their situation will not be spread.

If someone survives a suicide attempt but sustains injuries that are permanent or that require long-term care, the situation can be pretty grim. Most health insurance companies will not cover injuries that are self-inflicted. So, things like hospital bills, rehabilitation costs, doctor's bills, home care attendants and all other potential medical necessities would have to be paid for by the individual who attempted suicide.

Take Note of the fine print on your mortgage papersThe

Take Note of the fine print on your mortgage papers
The fine print on your mortgage papers is incredibly important to read because if you don't you may find yourself in a predicament that you really don't want to be in. You should read every page of the fine print and take as much time as you need to do it. This way you know you are not getting anything more than what you want. In the end it could save you a lot of time and money. Below are some of the things you should look out for while reading the fine print on your mortgage papers.

Balloon payment: you should look for this in your mortgage fine print if your loan isn't that of a balloon loan. Sometimes the lenders will put this is your fine print when it really isn't meant to be there. A balloon payment is when you pay only the interest on your loan and nothing off of your actual principal. This keeps the repayments small and most customers are pleased with this, until they discover the need of a balloon payment at the end. Paying off a large balloon payment is often impossible to do and can cause you to lose your home. So when checking the fine print, make sure a balloon payment is not in your fine print so you won't be caught with any surprises and an incredibly large payment.

Note: You should always be aware for the terms stated in the note. The note is usually where they state if you have not paid your repayment in a certain amount of days the lender has the right to sell your home and you are liable for anything else like extra fees and the banks also has the right to take any of your assets and finances if you do not make your payment.

Notice: you should read this part of your fine print very carefully. This part of the document will tell you how much notice you will receive if you haven't paid your repayment, sometimes it will tell you that you will receive no notice. Make sure you remember to send your payment if you go on a holiday. Send your payment early so you will not have to worry about your check getting lost in the mail. The best way around this problem is to see if you can send you payment via wire transfer so you know it is going exactly where it is meant to be. Also another thing you should look out for in the notice section is whether or not you have time to make up for the missed payment or whether it will just take action on the preceding of foreclosure.

Acceleration: this clause gives the lender the right to speed up the time when your mortgage loan is due and has the right to ask for the full amount due on your loan straight away if you miss a repayment. Also you should look for what notice they will give you in the event that this happens because sometimes it is said to give no notice.

Extra fees: always look out for any extra fees that you do not recognize when reading your mortgage fine print so you do not get hit with these fees that you are not aware of.

Another thing that you should look out for when reading your mortgage papers fine print is to make sure that everything is as it is agreed upon. Be sure that all of the closing fees, interests and other such terms are the same as first agreed upon.

Reading your mortgage paper's fine print can be a big job but it is incredibly important one. You need to know what you are signing and agreeing to. While reading, take as long as you like and don't let anyone pressure you into moving the process along. If you are confused about any of the terms stipulated in the fine print or have any questions then go ahead and ask them. Get a clear definition of what all terms mean and what they are all about. Also don't be afraid to get another person to look the fine print over, like a trusted friend or your lawyer to see what they think. They may be able to point out something that you missed. It is better to be safe than sorry.