It's a story that's tough to read about, but it has an important message. How much do you really know about the insurance you have on your loved ones?
Sean Skinner from Parma lost his son Bryan. He bought insurance when Bryan was 3 or 4 years old just in case this kind of thing happened. However, just when he thought he was covered, all he got was pushback.
"In the event that, God forbid, something should happen,” said Sean. It’s the very reason why Sean bought the policy covering his son. Unfortunately, he needed it when 19-year-old Bryan overdosed last August.
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Sean said he put funeral expenses on his credit card while waiting for his insurance company Globe Life to pay.
Sean told News 5 he sent them a certified death certificate but the cause of death was pending a coroner's exam.
"They were trying to determine exactly which type of drug (Bryan) had overdosed on,” said Sean. "Cause of death was undetermined but that didn't matter based on the terms of the policy. I had met the terms of the policy."
Did Sean just read the policy wrong? Not likely. “I made my living as an insurance agent,” he explained. That's right. For five years, Sean sold insurance, including life insurance. "Life insurance policies alone, I've easily read dozens…I had to pass an extensive exam that was administered by the State of Ohio."
Eventually, Sean filed a complaint with the Ohio Department of Insurance only to be given a letter by ODI saying it looked into it and Globe Life did nothing wrong.
"Initially, I was puzzled,” said Sean’s attorney Justin Rudin. “I said ‘Is there anything more that I'm missing here?’"
Rudin said he was troubled by the way Globe Life handled this case. His advice?
"The best thing to do is get everything in writing," he said. "Don't deal with the insurance company's adjusters or representatives over the phone because what they say to you over the phone, they're not necessarily going to put in writing."
At one point, Globe Life said it had to follow Ohio’s Slayer Law which states that the person collecting the insurance money cannot be the one who caused the death. However, in Sean’s case, his son’s death was never suspicious. All of it prolonged the pain for Sean and his family.
Globe Life eventually paid out the money months later but only, Sean said, after the company and the Ohio Department of Insurance "made a very stressful and difficult time of my life even more difficult."
News 5 reached out to Globe Life's parent company Torchmark.
No one has returned our calls.
We'll stay on top of it.
