Life Insurance✓ Verified · outline & fact-checked · Sep 2026Difficulty 1/5
If an insured is killed while committing a felony, the life insurer will generally:
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Answer & full 3-part explanation (select an option above, or peek)
Why A is correct
Life policies commonly exclude death resulting from the insured's participation in illegal activity, such as committing a felony. When the exclusion applies, the insurer denies the claim or limits coverage, because public policy holds that insurance should not reward crime and the risk was not one the insurer priced. This differs from suicide, where during the contestable period the insurer refunds premiums rather than paying the face amount. Paying regardless, double indemnity, or a paid-up conversion would all contradict the purpose of the exclusion.
Why the other options are wrong
- B) The illegal-activity exclusion permits the insurer to deny coverage when the insured dies committing a felony. Payment is not automatic when the exclusion applies.
- C) Double payments arise under accidental death benefit riders, which pay an additional amount for accidental death. They have nothing to do with illegal-activity claims.
- D) A paid-up conversion is a nonforfeiture or policy feature unrelated to the circumstances of death. The illegal-activity exclusion, if it applies, denies or limits the claim.
Memory hook
Break the law and the policy breaks cover — crime is not an insurable hobby.