Quora Answer: Does Life Insurance Still Pay Out if You are Put to Death?

The following is my answer to a Quora question: “Does life insurance still pay out if you are put to death?”

That depends on the terms of the contract.  For example, where I am, if a person commits an offence, and in the commission of the offence, is convicted and sentenced to death, the policy often does not pay out.  The insured is deemed party to his own demise.

If, however, if in the course of travel, in a covered region, said person runs afoul of the legal system that is not viewed as robust, and in the course of a conviction, flawed or otherwise, is put to death, the policy pays out.  An exemption arises if travel is to a region where a travel advisory is in effect, such as a conflict, and the life insured, without reason of work or otherwise, willfully and negligently travels to said place, and in the course of it, loses his life, the policy does not pay out.  For example, our policies explicitly do not cover North Korea and Somalia.