My life insurance claim for a death is delayed — what can I do?

Life insuranceSlow or stuckTexasChecked Nov 6, 2026

From K.Actuary, founded by Sangmin Kwon, ASA · sources checked 2026-11-06 · Source: Texas Insurance Code · Chapter 542 · § 542.056(a), (d) (Notice of Acceptance or Rejection of Claim) View original ↗

In short

The insurer has 15 business days to decide, or tell you it needs 45 more.
If someone else also claims the money, it has 90 days to pay or go to court.
Missing either one can bring 18% yearly interest, plus lawyer fees.

What this means

If a second person claims the money too, the insurer has 90 days to pay, or send it to a court [2]. If not, the usual rule applies. It has 15 business days to decide, once it has what it asked for. It can instead tell you in writing it needs up to 45 more days [1].

If it misses either deadline, it can owe 18% yearly interest, plus your lawyer's fees.

Your next step

Track the date you sent your last document. No beneficiary dispute? The insurer owes a decision within 15 business days after that [1]. A dispute instead? The 90-day court-deposit rule in [2] applies.

Check it yourself

Read § 542.060 [3] for the interest and fee remedy if the insurer is past its deadline.

Where this comes from (3)

[1] Texas Insurance Code · Chapter 542 · § 542.056(a), (d) (Notice of Acceptance or Rejection of Claim) · checked 2026-11-06
Except as provided by Subsection (b) or (d), an insurer shall notify a claimant in writing of the acceptance or rejection of a claim not later than the 15th business day after the date the insurer receives all items, statements, and forms required by the insurer to secure final proof of loss. … If the insurer is unable to accept or reject the claim within the period specified by Subsection (a) or (b), the insurer, wi…
[2] Texas Insurance Code · Chapter 542 · § 542.058(c) (Delay in Payment of Claim) · checked 2026-11-06
A life insurer that receives notice of an adverse, bona fide claim to all or part of the proceeds of the policy before the applicable payment deadline under Subsection (a) shall pay the claim or properly file an interpleader action and tender the benefits into the registry of the court not later than the 90th day after the date the insurer receives all items, statements, and forms reasonably requested and required un…
[3] Texas Insurance Code · Chapter 542 · § 542.060(a) (Liability for Violation of Subchapter) · checked 2026-11-06
if an insurer that is liable for a claim under an insurance policy is not in compliance with this subchapter, the insurer is liable to pay the holder of the policy or the beneficiary making the claim under the policy, in addition to the amount of the claim, interest on the amount of the claim at the rate of 18 percent a year as damages, together with reasonable and necessary attorney's fees.

How we found this

We matched your question to 3 official sources, quoted the exact lines, and re-checked each quote against its source on 2026-11-06.

What we don’t know yet

Your own plan or notice may say something different. If your letter cites another rule, send it and we will look again.

Every answer is checked against the official rule it quotes.

Information only — not legal advice. Your plan, insurer or agency decides.

This answer quotes the official sources listed above, with the date we checked them. Your own policy, notice and state rules control. We are not your lawyer or your insurer. We don’t file, argue or negotiate claims for you — you send any letter or form yourself.

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