Accidental death insurance is not the same as life insurance. For life insurance, the cause of death is generally not important. However, for accidental death insurance, the cause of death is extremely important. Accidental death insurance only pays out for deaths causes by accidents. But only “accidents’ as defined by the policy terms.

In RELIASTAR LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY v. MILLENI, Civil Action No. 4: 17-CV-02818 (S.D. Tex. Mar. 11, 2019). The United States District Court, Southern District of Texas, Houston Division presided over an interpleader lawsuit filed by Reliastar Life Insurance Company ("Reliastar"), the provider of the Decedent's life insurance policy, based on allegations that the Decedent’s husband was connected to her death and thus precluded under the Texas Slayer Statute from receiving the insurance policy proceeds.

In Transamerica Life Ins. Co. v. Quarm (No. EP-16-CV-295-KC, 2017 WL 5476471 (W.D. Tex. November 13, 2017) the Western District of Texas, El paso, considered whether the son of a decedent/power of attorney for the decedent could name himself a beneficiary of the decedent’s life insurance policy.  The court ruled that the power of attorney holder was not authorized to name himself as a beneficiary of the decedent’s life insurance policy, but could name his sister.

In Mckenzie v. Mckenzie, Magistrate Judge Bemporad of the Western District of Texas considered whether a purported designation was valid.  He decided that it was not.

In  Dohnalik v. Somner, 467 F.3d 488, 489 (5th Cir. 2006), the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals addressed the question of whether an ex-spouse’s designation as a beneficiary under a Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance (SGLI) policy survives a state divorce decree purporting to divest the designee of any such interests.