Not legal advice. This page summarizes sections of the Rhode Island General Laws as posted by the Rhode Island General Assembly and one Rhode Island Supreme Court opinion. Regulations and most later case law are not covered.
Why Rhode Island is different
- A fixed 9% rate on death proceeds, running from the date of death, not from proof of loss (27-4-26).
- Causation, not materiality, decides most misstatement defenses (27-4-10).
- No discretionary clauses in new or existing policies or certificates (27-4-28).
- A bad-faith cause of action written into statute (9-1-33), on top of the tort recognized in Bibeault.
- A state-run policy search for families of Rhode Island decedents (27-4-29).
9% interest from the date of death: 27-4-26
The statute is short. A life or annuity insurer “shall pay” the beneficiary interest on the proceeds at nine percent per annum from the date of the death of the insured or annuitant to the date of payment, and the interest is added to and becomes part of the total paid. There is no grace period and no tie to when proof of death was filed.
On a $300,000 policy paid four months after death, 9% simple interest is roughly $9,000. Check the insurer’s interest line against the statute.
Misstatements must have contributed to the death: 27-4-10
No misstatement made in procuring a life policy is deemed material, or renders the policy void, unless the matter misrepresented “actually contributed” to the event on which the policy became payable. Whether it did is “a question for the jury.”
So an undisclosed knee surgery should not defeat a claim for a death from a heart attack. When an insurer rescinds, ask exactly how the undisclosed fact relates to the cause of death.
Standard provisions, contest and suicide: 27-4-6.2
For individual policies delivered on or after January 1, 2008:
- Grace. Thirty-one days or one month. If death occurs during grace, the insurer may deduct only the unpaid premium through the end of the policy month of death. If death occurs in a paid period, it must add a refund of premium paid beyond that policy month (not for single-premium or paid-up policies).
- Incontestability. Two years in force during the insured’s lifetime from the issue date, except nonpayment. Increases or changes requiring evidence of insurability get their own two years from the effective date. Disability and accidental-death benefits may be excepted.
- Suicide. An exclusion, sane or insane, may not exceed two years from issue. A separate period of up to two years may apply to an owner-requested increase, but only to the increased amount. Within the period the insurer must return at least all premiums paid, less dividends, indebtedness and partial withdrawals.
Other rules in the chapter:
- Suit clauses. No life policy may limit the time to sue to less than three years after accrual or strip Rhode Island courts of jurisdiction (27-4-13).
- Third-party lapse notice. For individual policies issued on or after January 1, 2017, the applicant must be told of the right to name a third party to get a copy of any cancellation notice for nonpayment (27-4-30).
No discretionary clauses: 27-4-28
A policy or certificate may not contain language reserving sole discretion to the insurer to determine eligibility or interpret the policy, or specifying the standard of review a court applies to a denial. Such language in a policy or certificate covering a Rhode Island resident is void. Insurers may still say that they apply their policies in routine operations, so long as that cannot produce a deferential standard of review.
How this interacts with federal law on employer-sponsored plans is a separate question; see employer group life.
Finding a policy: 27-4-29
Since January 1, 2013, an immediate family member of a deceased resident or former resident can ask the Department of Business Regulation to search for life insurance. The request must include a copy of the death certificate. The department forwards it to every life insurer with policies in force in Rhode Island, and an insurer that finds coverage must notify the requester directly. Credit life insurers are exempt.
Unfair claims practices: 27-9.1
Section 27-9.1-4 lists the prohibited acts, and 27-9.1-3 makes them violations if committed flagrantly and in conscious disregard of the chapter or often enough to show a general business practice. The first alternative means a single egregious claim can qualify. Items that matter for death claims include:
- refusing to pay without a reasonable investigation (6);
- not affirming or denying coverage within a reasonable time after finishing the investigation (7);
- not supplying claim forms within ten calendar days of a request (13);
- misleading a claimant about the statute of limitations (15);
- not responding to a claim within thirty days, unless the insured agrees to longer (16); and
- not promptly giving a reasonable and accurate explanation of a denial or compromise offer (12).
Bad faith: Bibeault (1980) and 9-1-33 (1981)
In Bibeault v. Hanover Insurance Co., 417 A.2d 313 (R.I. 1980), answering certified questions from the federal district court in an uninsured-motorist dispute, the Rhode Island Supreme Court said that an insurer doing business in the state “is obligated to act in good faith in its relationship with its policyholders,” and that a violation gives rise to an independent claim in tort. The court:
- adopted the Wisconsin Anderson formulation: no reasonable basis for denial, plus knowledge or reckless disregard of that lack;
- allowed consequential damages for economic loss and emotional distress, with punitive damages only for malice, wantonness or wilfulness; and
- refused attorney fees, finding no statutory or contractual basis.
The General Assembly responded the next year. R.I. Gen. Laws 9-1-33 lets “an insured under any insurance policy” sue the insurer when it wrongfully and in bad faith refuses to pay or settle a claim, or refuses to timely perform its obligations, and claim compensatory damages, punitive damages and reasonable attorney fees. Whether the insurer acted in bad faith is a question for the trier of fact.
The statute speaks of an “insured.” Whether a beneficiary who is not the insured can use it is a question for a Rhode Island lawyer.
Time limits
R.I. Gen. Laws 9-1-13(a) sets ten years for civil actions not otherwise provided for. A life policy may shorten that, but not below three years after accrual (27-4-13).
Slayer chapter: 33-1.1
A “slayer” is anyone who wilfully and unlawfully takes or procures the taking of another’s life (33-1.1-1). Proceeds payable to the slayer as beneficiary or assignee are paid as if the slayer had predeceased the insured, even if the slayer bought the policy and paid every premium (33-1.1-11). A record of conviction is admissible in a civil action under the chapter (33-1.1-14).
An insurer that pays under the policy terms is not exposed to additional liability unless it received written notice at its home office of circumstances bringing the case within the chapter before paying (33-1.1-12).
Example
A Warwick insured dies January 15. The insurer, citing an undisclosed back condition, rescinds within the contest period. The death was from a car crash. Under 27-4-10 the back condition must have actually contributed to the death, a jury question. If the family wins and is paid on September 15, interest at 9% runs from January 15.
Complaints
The Department of Business Regulation’s Insurance Division handles life insurance complaints online or by phone: Division of Insurance: Consumers (Rhode Island DBR). A complaint does not pause the time to sue.
Sources
- Rhode Island General Laws, Rhode Island General Assembly: webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes.
- Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation, Insurance Division: dbr.ri.gov.
- Bibeault v. Hanover Insurance Co., 417 A.2d 313 (R.I. 1980) (full opinion, CourtListener): courtlistener.com. Read November 3, 2026.
Not legal advice. This page summarizes general rules and the specific statutes cited. Your policy's wording, the state whose law applies, and whether the coverage came through an employer can all change the result. See the disclaimer and editorial policy.