Insurance company in Spain ordered to pay 100,000 euros to rightful beneficiary of life policy after refusing to do so for four years

It has taken four years for the beneficiary of a life insurance policy taken out with BBVA Seguros to receive the money that was rightfully his - 100,000 euros, to which must be added interest and other costs which, according to Spanish consumers' organisation Facua, exceed 60,000 euros.

It was in April 2021, when Alejandro informed BBVA Seguros of the death of his uncle so that it could proceed to pay him the 100,000 euros of his life insurance policy. In the email, he provided the bank with both the death certificate and a "transaction order" signed by the deceased in 2016, stamped by the bank, naming him as beneficiary of the policy he had taken out three years earlier. Initially, the uncle had not designated anyone as the recipient of the money, but later chose his nephew.

Then began a long chain of emails between the nephew and the bank, which gave him numerous excuses for not giving him the money. Among them was that Alejandro's name did not appear in the bank's computer register as a beneficiary of the policy, despite the fact that he had provided a document stamped by the bank itself recognising him as such.

Even so, the bank asked Alejandro for further documents such as an official certificate attesting that his uncle had taken out a life insurance policy with them; a certificate of last will and testament to ascertain whether his uncle had made a will, in case another person had been named in it. As Alejandro could not access it, because he was not an heir, he had to apply to a notary's office for a document attesting that the will made no reference to life insurance and that the deceased had therefore not named a new beneficiary in it.

But it was of no use because, in the end, the bank proposed to give the money from the life insurance to the universal heir of his uncle - a minor - and that Alejandro "reach an agreement" with him, so that the heir could decide what percentage the nephew could keep.

Facua pointed out that "in an attempt to evade responsibility for the serious irregularity it was committing, the company announced that if that agreement was not reached, it would carry out a 'judicial deposit process of the benefit', which it could only initiate once the affected party filed a lawsuit".

After bringing the case to the attention of Facua Sevilla and in view of BBVA Seguros' refusal to assume its obligation to pay, Alejandro took the case to court.

The judgment, handed down on 2 November 2022, ordered BBVA to pay Alejandro the 100,000 euros of the insurance, as well as compensations for late payment and the costs of the legal proceedings. It also ordered the heir's mother, who appeared in the proceedings to oppose Alejandro receiving the money, claiming it for her son, to pay costs.

Both BBVA Seguros and the heir's mother appealed against the ruling. However, on 3 June, Seville's rovincial court upheld the first instance court ruling in full. The judges ruled that BBVA could not be forgiven the payment of interest and costs.

As for the mother's appeal, the court stated that "the designation of the beneficiary was made in a written statement subsequent to the policy" in a document "stamped by the BBVA", "the authenticity of which is not even doubted by the appellant". It added that "that stamp alone is sufficient to confirm that the designation of a new beneficiary had been notified to the insurer".