Eleventh Circuit Rules Suicide-by-Cop Not Covered by Life Insurance

Does a Florida life insurance policy that denies death benefits in the event of suicide have to pay out if the insured commits "suicide by cop"? District court: Yes, because it could not be classified as a suicide because the person did not “die by his own hand,” but rather, “as a result of being shot by another person.” Eleventh Circuit: No, because the person set it in motion. “After all, if a man threw himself before a train, nobody would argue that the conductor had committed homicide.”

The case is North American Company for Life and Health Insurance v. Caldwell et al., No. 22-10534 (11th Cir. Dec. 14, 2022).