Cecil, can you point me in the direction of any sources you used to describe the etymology of the typical modern-day suicide clause, from this article?
Here’s the quote in which I most interested.
“A related change had to do with how insurers dealt with suicide. It used to be that policies regularly contained an open-ended exclusion for suicide - if the insured offed himself, regardless of how long after purchasing coverage, the insurer didn’t have to pay. But there are conflicting public-policy positions here: One, long espoused by insurance companies, is that it’s wrong to create an economic incentive for suicide by paying off beneficiaries. The other, ultimately adopted by most courts and state legislatures, argues that it’s wronger to tell the grieving family they won’t be seeing any insurance money because their loved one chose to take his life. After much litigation, the suicide exclusion has now been limited in most cases to two years, research having indicated that such a period is long enough to weed out those who buy life insurance with the specific intention of killing themselves thereafter.”
Any help you (or anyone else can offer) would be great!