Can Life Insurance Refuse To Pay? 
Life insurance companies can refuse to pay the death benefit if it is two years since the policy was purchased , and they find that there were misrepresentations on the application . E.g. . The applicant was scheduled for a spinal tap due to suspicion of cancer , but answered `` no '' to the question that asked if there were pending tests for diagnosis of disease . If the health questions are answered honestly , the life insurance policy will pay , because they base their approval upon what is written on the application . They also do not pay if death by suicide occurs during the first two years of the policy , or if there are explicit exceptions on a particular policy . E.g. . Some policies will exclude payment if death is caused by piloting a private plane , but that is almost always spelled out in an amendment or rider . 