Heath's Insurance Company Won't Pay Up!
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.]
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A Worthwhile Cause
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… if he was taking prescription medication at the time that he filled out the policy, and he lied on the application, that really could be material misrepresentation. But the company has to prove that he was actually taking drugs when the application was filled out. That's hard to do, because he may have had the prescriptions, but wasn't taking the medication. Or the meds might not have been his prescriptions. I think they'll end up having to pay in the end, but they want to hold onto that $$ as long as they can.
I feel bad for Matilda however I do think that she has enough money and it sounds like he lied on his application when he was clearly using drugs and an at risk person…it wouldn't be fair for the insurance company to have to pay up.
fuck.. how dear they say that it might be suicide. he would never have killd him self.. maddie should have got the money ages ago..
Insurance companies will do anything not to pay up. What prescription drugs was he taking?
This is why it sucks people lay any blame on MK! She had NOTHING to do with it. She didn't speak about it because she was trying to protect him, Michelle and Matilda. She knew that anything she said, Relistar and the evil attorney's they have would twist it to deny the claim. She did NOT give him pills or anything. Heath was a big boy! He didn't need some tiny actress to get him anything. Blame Heath for his own mistakes. Sad, but true. It's time to let this poor guy rest and his family to heal.
HOT4COOK says – reply to this 4I 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!
^ Ignorant! He was taking them long before he met her. Get a grip tool.
xlbombx says – 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…
^ She had just come from a meeting with the people at Relistar.
Isn't this protocol? Especially when something stinks? If there were nothing to hide, why wouldn't emergency 911 been called? GMAB There was only one phone in the joint? They couldn't have called MK and 911? His parents giving up there inheritence makes sense now . . . all that will be left is Matilda's!
I never thought I would be saying this, but I think the insurance company has a point. He lied on his application. He a hard core drug user. Even if he didn't intentionally kill himself, he engaged in risky behavior. What you people fail to realize is that is why premiums are so high, insurance fraud. So everyone else ends up paying more when they pay put claims they shouldn't. Matilda is getting his estate and the money from his next movie. She is well set right now.
Ok, I feel bad about Heath Ledger. But frankly, I am tired of hearing about his "poor daughter". First, the man was pretty loaded and it was never doubtful whether Matilda would be taken care of. Second, her MOTHER is wealthy in her own right. Matilda was never at risk for.. say.. living on welfare or in a homeless shelter.. a REAL problem when a parent dies. Finally, Heath Ledger died of a DRUG OVERDOSE. You don't die from prescription drugs unless you ABUSE them. So I'm tired of the pity party for Heath Ledger. The man was a drug user… stop feeling so sorry for him.
Re: Au_140 – About time someone made some made a logical comment and not some emotional rant about insurance companies. If he lied then no money is owed. Why should Insurance companies be resposable for peoples stupity, that is why they can charge more for people who put themselves at risk like smokers, people with health problems, people who drive sports cars and Old people.
Give that kid her money. Now.
give the little girl her bloody money - scummy people trying to take money from a child.
Insurance companies take our money than do everything they can to not do what we pay them for-protect us. Trying to screw over a BABY who lost her father is despicable! Go Michelle!
I hope that really is the law. It's absolutely absurd for an insurance company to play the role of police and medical examiners. It was ruled accidental…pay Matilda!!
give the little girl the money!!!
I think life insurance companies are the biggest frauds. The little girl lost her dad, PAY UP! I now know where not to get life insurance.
There's no facts to support that MKO gave Heath drugs, and no facts to support that he was "a hardcore drug user" like some of you say. There is also not a shred of evidence to say he lied on the forms he filled out. Heath was not a dumb man. He was totally in love with is daughter and cared for Michelle. So the notion he would lie on an insurance application is nonsense. He wouldn't risk something happening to him and leaving his daughter without. He also wouldn't assume Michelle would have money and take care of Matilda if he died. Heath was an old-fashioned guy, wanting to protect and take care of "his girls." My disgust with The Troll(MKO),the reason I despise her forever, is that four telephone calls went back and forth to her before someone called 911. The time that was wasted might have saved him. She would worry about drugs since she's a well known druggie and a drunk and probably assumes everybody is. She never dated Heath. She hung out with him at bars bcz she like to be around famous people with credibility. She has none. Helena Christiansen who did date him, would drag Heath to fashion events where he hung out with Moby and Vince Cassel. MKO wishes she was in the big leagues. She is just a piggy troll and If I was Michelle, I might sue her ass for negligence and take her billions, including future earning. But it is blood money.
When you fill out & sign an insurance application you are stating all the information is true….if not it's considered insurance fraud. He blew it.
I wonder is Reli8astar is a subsidiary of AIG? Shady. If he had committed suicide he would have left a note AND he would have been certain to rewrite his will to include Mathilda.
Why can't they just let him be? This deeply saddens me… Good thing Michelle is a smart woman and is doing something about this. I'm sure she just wishes it was all over… I know I do.
xoxox
They are full of crap! Too many people was seeing him that day. They need
to check the facts. Pay up or shut up!
Team Matilda!
Way to go insurance company. Way to screw a poor little girl even more!
I think if she is already inheriting her father's $17M estate and possibly his addictive personality than another $10M more might do more harm than good. Poor little rich girl, anyone?
This is a funny situation. It's an interesting story because if the Insurance company does not pay out Heaths daughter they will consequently hurt their company image because Heath was a celebrity and supporters will rally in his defense. BUT, they are within their rights to investigate if they perceive the death to be "suspicious", (which it was according to reports). Think of all the people that actually NEED money regardless of wether or not it's rightfully his daughters or not. This girl is going to be taken care of. It's so sad to think that the fans are so eager to stand up and defend injustices made against celebrity figures…
thats so fucked up, hopefully they give up the money aw poor michelle and little matilda hope they stay strong and R.I.P BABY!!!
Thats so fucked up. The kids father is dead. Dont you think these people have been through enough without some money grubbing insurance company dragging it out any longer? Have a fucking heart.
Is that Michelle Williams with Matilda??? She looks AWFUL…
SON OF A BITCH!!
FUCK INSURANCE COMPANYS, THEYRE AS MESSED UP AS OUR ECONOMy.
fCkRz….
EffiNG A!
They just don't wanna pay tha fuck up. Insurance companies suck fucking ass.
go matilda!!
thank god that little Matilda doesn´t understand anything of this shit!
Give MRL her $$
too bad for that cute girl T_T
They should pay!
Selfish motherfuckers…
The little girl deserves every dime of that $$$. The insurance companies can shove it!! plus….if it were a suicide, don't ya think he would have done something a bit more extravagant? pills…uh no! And the least MKO can do for anything she may have done to contribute to HL demise is pay for a shopping spree for the tot a FAO or Toys R Us!!!!!!
Re: moonbeams – i agree!!! how many times have we been sick and forgotten if we took our medicine or even what time we last took the meds???? Hell, take the accidental deaths just with the senior citizens and the tons of pills they choke down daily alone..yet…their families collect the $$$ when they pass of accidental OD.
Insurance Companies ALWAYS try to find ANY reason they can to not give you your money. It was obviouslty an accident! He didnt leave a note, & most people who commit suicide leave a note & show seriouse signs of depression & instability months/even years before actually killing themselves, furthermore MOST people threaten to kill themselves long before they actually do it, this is a cry for help. They better give that little girl her money! Oh and about the perscriptions thing, Maybe he wasnt on medication or using hard drugs @ the time when he filled out those forms….. they could prove that IF they can get into his medical records to see when he began recieving medication….. BUT arnt those documents PRIVATE??? Even in the court of law??? I HOPE his daughter gets the money, its bad enough shes got to grow up w/o her dad, @ least she's not old enough to understand//be stressed out by what the insurance company is putting them thru.