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How long should it take to get life insurance paid out?

My father in law passed away and my mother in law seems to be getting the run around in getting his life insurance money. The policy was with Colonial Penn (and they paid in over the years more then she will be getting back). My father in law had been sick for years and money is very tight due to the huge medical costs. How long should it take colonial penn to pay her. She has sent in all the paperwork and death certficate. Is there a certain amount of time they have (legally) to pay. It has been 3 weeks now, and poor mom-in-law max out the credit cards to pay for the funeral. I just hope Colonial Penn is legimate and does not give people a hard time. When my father passed away my mother had her money in less then a week but it was with a large reputable investment firm. Colonial Penn already got the forms, policy and orginal death certificate. The death was not suspicious. The poor man had been very sick and on hospice with pancreas cancer. When hospice told my mother in law that he had less then a week left, we made sure all paperwork was in order, talked to social security, and called colonial penn. We wanted to avoid her worrying over money.

Public Comments

1. Three to four weeks is typical unless there are problems concerning the circumstances of death.
2. Given that the policy has been inforce for a long while, most companies will get a check to the beneficiary or contact you if there is a problem with what you sent them within a few weeks. I don't know much about Colonial Penn's typical claims speed, but they are a legitimate life insurance company. It's not a scam or anything like that. I would call their customer service department or claims department and make sure they have what you sent and ask them when they anticipate sending your mom the money.
3. A policy can be paid out within a couple of weeks. It depends how long it takes them to get the information they need (Death certificates, policy verification, etc). It also depends if they are investigating the death as well. If they feel it was suspicious or a 'violation' of the exclusion.
4. Some companies wire transfer you the money within 24-hours of death. Colonial Penn is not one of those companies. A mail order insurance company like Colonial Penn is not known for great customer service. But they will eventually pay the claim. Hang in there.