I know there is a contestability period in which the insurance company can deny a claim for suicide, and that it’s relatively short, but I’ve been wondering if anyone who jumped, was still in that period and was denied?
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2I imagine that the lawyers acting for their estates would have stated that remaining in the building was certain suicide so jumping was their only chance to escape that fate (even if the chance of survival was almost zero).– Steve BirdCommented Aug 4, 2020 at 13:00
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1@SteveBird I think it would definitely be argued in court. I can see a ton of points from both sides, but it would be a low blow to the family. And knowing insurance companies, it wouldn’t surprise me if they did.– George Clooney In a MooneyCommented Aug 4, 2020 at 13:02
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1Welcome to History:Stack Exchange. Thank you for your question; please consider revising it to be more in line with our community expectations. Like many other stacks, we expect questions to provide evidence of prior research. That helps us to understand the question, and avoids our repeating work you've already done. Our help center, and other stacks provide additional resources to assist with revisions.– MCW ♦Commented Aug 4, 2020 at 13:06
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I would start with summaries like iii.org or propertycasualty or jstor. Neither specifically address this question, but might serve as a starting point. [this] suggests that the cause of death on the death certificate would be the grounds for claims processing– MCW ♦Commented Aug 4, 2020 at 13:08
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2I would think that denying an insurance payout to a victim of a terrorist attack due to the victim's committing suicide rather than burning to death would have been, as they say in politics, EXTREMELY bad optics. Any payout would have been much cheaper than the revenue lost due to the immediate bad press that would have ensued.– JurpCommented Aug 4, 2020 at 13:10
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1 Answer
While I can't prove this directly, it's extremely unlikely that any insurance companies rejected claims on these grounds. My understanding is that insurance companies follow the official cause of death on the death certificate without a lot of further investigation. If any 9/11 victims were ruled a suicide, this would almost certainly have become a scandal in the press. Journalists who have simply tried to identify some of those who fell from the towers have made great efforts and still could not identify them conclusively.
