In a recent unpublished decision, the Third Circuit Court of
Appeals rejected a claim that the insured lacked the intention to
kill herself because she suffered from medication-induced
suicidality.
In Arena v. Riversource Life Ins.
Co., No. 19-1043, 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 28052 (3d Cir.
Sept. 18, 2019), the insured purchased two life insurance policies.
Each included similar suicide exclusion clauses, which generally
provided that if the insured died by suicide within two years from
the policy date, the insurer's liability would be limited to
the total premium paid.
The court described the insured as a successful attorney, who
had recently come under some financial stress. She saw a
psychiatrist, who determined that she had a low risk of suicide,
and presumably, to treat the insured's anxiety and depression,
he prescribed her two medications. Over the next few weeks, the
psychiatrist upped her dosages and added a third antidepressant.
Despite these efforts, the
