Will an insurance policy payout on an open verdict?

An "open verdict" is a term used in a coroner's inquest to determine a cause of death. Possible outcomes can be natural causes, murder, suicide, or another cause.

If dealth is by natural causes, barring anything odd, life insurance should pay without question. Likewise as to murder, although there may be an investigation regarding its circumstances--such as whether the person murdered was the aggressor, or if the beneficiary of the policy was the murderer.

Suicide presents a different situation. Most life insurance policies exclude suicide as a payable cause of death during the early years of coverage. The policy terms will specify how long. Once that period has passed there should not be a problem with payment.