Not legal advice. This page summarizes the West Virginia Code as published by the West Virginia Legislature and one decision of the Supreme Court of Appeals. It does not cover the Insurance Commissioner's rules or the large body of West Virginia bad-faith case law.
Where West Virginia differs
- Long contract deadline. Ten years for a written contract signed by the party to be charged, five for other contracts (W. Va. Code 55-2-6).
- Conviction-based slayer bar with extra offenses. The bar reaches conspiracy and certain crimes against incapacitated adults (42-4-2).
- A 31-day grace period for individual life premiums (33-13-3).
Settling the claim
West Virginia’s required policy terms (33-13-14) tie payment to the insurer’s receipt of due proof of death; the company may also ask for the policy itself and for evidence of the claimant’s right to the money. Any settlement window written into the contract is capped at two months after the proofs arrive. The life-policy article reviewed here does not set an interest rate on late death claims.
Grace, contest and exclusions
- Grace. Each renewal premium carries thirty-one days of slack. Coverage continues in the meantime, and if the insured dies then, the insurer can subtract what was owed (33-13-3).
- Contest period. Once the policy has run two years from issue while the insured is alive, the company can no longer attack it, except for nonpayment and for provisions on disability or accidental-death benefits (33-13-4). Section 33-13-16 adds that this protection concerns validity only, so an exclusion written into the policy still operates.
- Exclusions. An individual policy may limit coverage for death only for war or military service, aviation, specified hazardous occupations, death outside the continental United States and Canada, and suicide within two years of issue, sane or insane. When an exclusion applies, at least the reserve must be paid (33-13-25(a), (b)). Group life is not covered by this section (33-13-25(c)).
Application statements
West Virginia treats what an applicant says, in the application or while the policy is being negotiated, as a representation rather than a warranty (33-6-7). An untrue answer, omission or concealment defeats the claim in three situations only: it was fraudulent; it mattered to whether the risk was accepted or to the hazard taken on; or, with the true facts in hand, the company acting in good faith would have declined, charged differently, limited the amount, or excluded the hazard that turned out to cause the loss.
Unfair claim settlement practices
W. Va. Code 33-11-4(9) bars listed claim practices committed often enough to indicate a general business practice, including:
- turning a claim down without first looking into it reasonably (d);
- leaving coverage unconfirmed for an unreasonable time once proof of loss is in (e);
- making no good-faith effort at a prompt, fair settlement when liability has become reasonably clear (f);
- forcing insureds into court with low offers, a practice item (g) limits to cases where the amount claimed was reasonably close to what was eventually recovered;
- giving no prompt, reasoned policy explanation for a denial or reduced offer (n).
Section 33-11-4a, enacted in the 2005 session, provides that a third-party claimant may not bring a private action for an unfair claims settlement practice; its remedy is an administrative complaint to the Commissioner, filed within one year of discovery. It defines a third-party claimant as someone asserting a claim against a person insured under the policy, and it adds that a good-faith disagreement over value or liability is not an unfair practice (33-11-4a(g)). Whether, and on what terms, a life insurance beneficiary may sue under 33-11-4(9) depends on West Virginia case law that this page does not summarize.
Hayseeds: fees for a substantially prevailing policyholder
In Hayseeds, Inc. v. State Farm Fire & Casualty, 177 W. Va. 323, 352 S.E.2d 73 (1986), policyholders sued their insurer, which had denied a fire claim on arson grounds. The Supreme Court of Appeals held:
- Fees. Whenever a policyholder must sue its own insurer over a property damage claim and substantially prevails, the company owes reasonable attorney fees, presumptively one-third of the policy’s face amount unless the policy is very small or very large.
- Consequential damages. A substantially prevailing policyholder also recovers net economic loss caused by the delay and damages for aggravation and inconvenience.
- Punitive damages. These require actual malice: the company actually knew the claim was proper but willfully, maliciously and intentionally denied it. The court reversed the punitive award in that case.
Hayseeds framed these rules for property damage claims. Whether and how they extend to a life insurance beneficiary is a question for a West Virginia lawyer.
Group life
- Converting. A worker who loses group coverage on leaving the job or the eligible class can switch to an individual policy with no medical questions. Term plans are excluded from the choices, but section 33-14-16 allows up to a year of interim term coverage. The person must apply and pay within thirty-one days.
- Notice given late. Section 33-14-20 stretches that window when the notice arrives late: the person gets fifteen days from notice, with an outside limit of sixty days beyond the normal deadline.
Death during the conversion period is addressed in 33-14-18. For workplace plans governed by federal law, see employer group life.
Time limits to sue
West Virginia’s 55-2-6 sets several periods for actions to recover money on a contract:
- ten years on a written contract signed by the party to be charged or its agent;
- five years on any other contract, express or implied.
Which period applies can depend on how the policy was executed, and the policy may contain its own suit clause. Get advice early rather than assuming the longer period.
Homicide and other offenses: 42-4-2
- Killing or conspiracy. A person convicted of feloniously killing the insured, or of conspiracy in the killing, may not take money or property from the person killed “by any policy or certificate of insurance, or otherwise.” The money goes to whoever would have taken it had the convicted person died first (42-4-2(a)).
- Incapacitated adults. The same bar applies to a person convicted of an offense causing the death of an incapacitated adult, and to certain convictions for abuse or neglect of an incapacitated adult or felony financial exploitation of an elderly person, protected person or incapacitated adult (42-4-2(b), (c)).
Because each bar depends on a conviction, families facing an unresolved prosecution should tell the insurer in writing that the beneficiary’s entitlement is disputed and ask a lawyer about protecting the proceeds.
A worked example
A Charleston insured dies in a single-car crash eighteen months after buying a policy. The insurer denies the claim, saying the application omitted a prior speeding conviction. Because death came within two years of issue, the insurer may contest. Under 33-6-7, it must show the omission was fraudulent, material to the risk, or something that in good faith would have changed whether or how it issued the policy. The family should request the underwriting guidelines and the application file and consider a Commissioner complaint.
Complaints to the Insurance Commissioner
The West Virginia Offices of the Insurance Commissioner handle consumer complaints through Consumer Services: Consumer Services (WV Insurance Commissioner). A complaint does not extend the time to sue.
Sources
- West Virginia Code chapters 33, 42 and 55, West Virginia Legislature: code.wvlegislature.gov.
- West Virginia Offices of the Insurance Commissioner, Consumer Services: wvinsurance.gov.
- Hayseeds, Inc. v. State Farm Fire & Casualty, 177 W. Va. 323, 352 S.E.2d 73 (1986) (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.