Heath's Insurance Company Won't Pay Up!
Filed under: Legal Matters > Heath Ledger > Olsen Twins > Michelle Williams
As we told you yesterday, Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams' daughter, Matilda, is getting her father's inheritance.
All of it.
Heath's father has said, "Our family has gifted everything to Matilda." And it's about time!
But, with that good news, comes some bad news.
The company that had a $10 million life insurance policy on Ledger has decided not to pay up - yet - since they claim the death might have been a suicide, even though officials have stated it was accidental!
So, Williams has hired attorneys for her daughter to sue the agency.
ReliaStar Life Insurance Company wrote the policy for Ledger back in June 2007, just six months before he died.
Instead of paying the money to little Matilda, ReliaStar has set out to investigate whether Ledger committed suicide, despite the medical examiner ruling it was an accidental death.
The company is calling Ledger's death "suspicious" and possibly an act of suicide. The company stated that "ReliaStar is entitled to investigate Plaintiff's claim to determine if the 'Suicide' provision is applicable."
And guess who's coming back into the picture.
Mary-Kate Olsen!!!
ReliaStar's attorneys are going to take the depositions of MKO, as well as the masseuse who discovered him dead. They'll also be interviewing his doctors, agents, co-stars on films, psychologists, and many others.
ReliaStar is also claiming that Ledger lied on his insurance application, specifically when it asked if he was taking prescription drugs or ever took illegal drugs.
If they find out he lied, they can contest the policy and say it was a "material misrepresentation."
But, Matilda's lawyers say ReliaStar is violating California law which does not allow insurance companies to reexamine applications after the death of the policyholder.
Her lawyers believe the company should have already paid and say the company is acting "maliciously, fraudulently and/or oppressively."
What do U think????
[Image via WENN.]
first
they always wanna keep their money…
Insurance companies hate to pay. First
I think MKO ought to pony up the money for the kid if the insurance company refuses to pay since SHE had been the one supplying him with the drugs in the first place. Hello, Captain Obvious calling!
give the baby her $
Give that little girl her money, Her daddy did it for her and if a medical prof. is saying that it was an accident they should pay up
Insurance companies suck balls. You pay the premiums then when you want to file a claim, it is like you are on trial defending yourself.
Fucking screws that run these companies, what if it was their loved one ?
…I can't afford to bail out another insurance company this week. Now that I own one, I can't handle two. Pay up fuckers. "Any Day Now" she will get her check…
I think the insurance company should give that little girl a break.
Re: harrybalsac – goooooood morning
One thing my mom always taught me, was that Insurance companies are ripoffz. If you have life insurance on your spouse and someone killz you, the Insurance company will make sure you go to prison, so they don't have to pay. Fuck that!
Bitches! It's just because he's famous. The law's the law. Give Matilda the money!
THat is some BS!! Dang, that is horrible!
messed up.
same thing happened to our fam.
won't pay.
have to sue them.
This is total BS, Perez. Totally. It's that little girl's money and the insurance company is being tight-fisted. Give the money, close the policy, and let the poor man rest in peace.
with this press… who's gonna want to buy insurance from them now!!! i would have paid.. hellooooo
they don't care about people.
only money.
wtf fucken assholes HE DIDN'T KILL HIMSELF
I love the
insurance companies.
They are my
friends. They shouldn't
pay, coz he killed himself
with the drugs the doctor
gave him. Sue the doctor,
or sue the pharmaceutical companies.
Re: crotchrocket –
wha? how they gonna git a dead person to go to prison?
refresh.
Re: macdqt – seriously….who would want to buy a policy from them now?
If the medical examiner had ruled that it was NOT accidental than Ledgers family would have disputed this. His opinion really carries very little weight. I believe that it was probably an accident. He was a known drug addict, probably tried to get really high and took a few too many pills. Only in america can a known drug addict take too many drugs than sue to get insurance paid.
Re: crotchrocket – ?????
Insurance companies are the tools of satan.
I don't think they should have to pay if he didn't meet the terms of the policy. The reason they don't pay for suicide is a lot of people buy a policy just before committing suicide to try and give their family lots of money. Also, when people lie on their insurance applications, it winds up costing the rest of us a lot of money. I personally do think Heath killed himself or at least ODed and it was covered up - as it should be. It's a private matter. The little girl already has $20 million just from her dad, which more than most of us will see in our lifetimes, not to mention more money from her mom.
why is michelle williams all scraped up and bloody? what project is that from, a little creepy to be walking with her daughter like that…
THEY SHOULD PAY UP !!! SELFISH MOTHERFUCKERS!!!
insurance companies are SO foul… I hope there's enough pressure on them to pay up — or if they have to sue, that they win..
The company just doesn't want to pay the money…BASTARRDS!
An insurance co…not wanting to pay up??? NO!
Yeah… the officials said it's wasn't suicide so IT WASN'T A FUCKING SUICIDE. Give that baby all she has left of her daddy.
Re: Au_140 – Insurance fraud isn't as common as they lead you to believe. There's no reason we regular folks have to pay as much as we do. It's really a scam.
Anyway, if you're willing to literally kill yourself to try to get money for your family…I say the company should pay up! I mean, if you're that desperate, your family obviously needs it really bad…
Fucking DUH! Insurance companies don't collect your monthly payments to actually give you something in case of an accident or some other issue. They collect your money to keep it and make a profit. The objective is not to spend it or give any of it to you. insurance companies don't care about people.
This is a foul thing to do. The Medical Examiners have already stated that the drugs in his system, taken one at a time were at normal dosage levels. It was the combining of the drugs, along with the fact he'd taken something that stayed in his system 24 hours earlier, that killed him. That is why the ruling was "accidental." No individual drug was at a lethal dosage level. When people are intent on committing suicide, they OVERDOSE. They don't take normal dosage levels. I hope the fact this insurance company denied this claim gets a lot of publicity. This company insures actors. If they are getting shitty about honoring insurance claims, they will lose their customer base. Fuck them. He was not a drug addict nor did he commit suicide. These corporate bastards are just trying to smear him and go tabloid so they can get away with denying the claim. I am glad Michelle is suing. I also hope she will sue them for divulging confidential information about their client. They are rotten. I hope they go out of business!
insurance companies are disgusting, she's just a little girl. MKO is such a vile person, there's something she'd hiding, she's totally untrustworthy, and shouldn't have anything to do with this
Boycott that insurance company!
They totally suck!
I wish the government would step in and get a handle on these crooks!
They have a license to steal money now.
Re: yourazzzuckzbuttermilk –
That’s the point on getting life insurance, to be INSURED you in case you are to stress-out to realize that you are hurting yourself. Stress is like any other diseases; yes the Docs should of realized that he wasn’t ok, but that is the point of having life assurance in case of an accident, there is no money that can replace that littler girl not having her father for the rest of her life….it’s sooo sad and Insurance Companies are soooo shady and disgusting.
I think that with the current economic climate in the United States right now, it will be almost impossible to get money from any insurance company. It is fraud, and completely unethical, but it does not surprise me in the least.
I dunno. Are you guys just repeating what you hear or have you actually had trouble with an insurance co?? My dishwasher flooded my place. I thought the ins co would put up a fight, but they paid way more than I expected - even paid for a hotel while my floors were redone. And if you all hate insurance cos so much, why doesn't anyone support a national healthcare plan???
Insurance companies will look for any excuse not to pay. That's how it is.
However.. if he lied on the form.. which he very well might have then they have recourse. It was a new policy. I'm finding it hard to believe that he only started doing drugs within the last 6 months before he died.
Sad for Matilda. At least she got something.
sorry to say so, but: this child is getting 6 million (for sure) - she has a welloff mother - and everybody is behaving like she is starving.
PAY UP BITCHES!!! Insurance companies are in the business of trying not to cover people.
ReliaStar anyone? not a star you can certainly rely on. What they do is legitimate about Ledger's claims. If he's being lying, then too bad for little Matilda (already getting 20 milion worth of assets from the family). That's law!
But, if Matilda's attorneys are right about the California law forbidding ReliaStar's right of doing second investigation on his death, then Matilda might have a chance (of getting richer).
gold diggers
How desperate is michelle for money? I was all for Matilda getting the whole of heaths estate but i really dont think she needs another $10 mill. Maybe michelle doesn't want to have to work ne more? $10 mill is a hell of a lot of dough for only having cover for six months.
Isn't it enough that three blokes with their own families (jude,jonny and colin) have donated their cash to her especially when im sure jude and colin arn't in the position to be giving it away…. aging sex symbols who barely work these days. Lame!
Re: xlbombx – comment number 28
Yeah I thought the same when I saw her face I thought something was off then I looked at her legs…Maybe theyre on a set of her newest film?..
The picture was taken before Heath and Michelle announced they'd broken up. I think it was early spring on a movie set of Michelle's in Europe. I remember bcz it seemed like the beginning of when you'd see Heath with Matilda or Michelle with Matilda, but seldom all three of them together. Michelle & Matilda are entitled to everything that's coming to them. Someone paid those premiums and the money is owed. If a studio took out the policy, they need to pressure the insurance company. If Heath took it out on himself, how stupid is it that he would lie and jeopardize his own insurance coverage. One thing I've experienced. When you file a claim for property damage, they usually come thru. Depends on the amount. But personal injury claims, they can be total bastards. I had a work injury, and was actually watching a TV commercial for Liberty Mutual, when I knew they accepted my claim, but they hadn't paid the hospital for the ex-rays and the ER. I was getting all these letters from the hospital dunning me, for six months, and I'm calling the insurance company at least a half dozen times to make sure they had correct info. Finally the hospital raised hell with them directly.
I was a Special Investigator for an insurance company for several years, and they actually have a legal point&#