Can the insurer refuse to pay after detecting cancer?

Four months ago I took a life insurance with a reputed insurance company, designating my wife as beneficiary in the event of my demise. She has always been a housewife and does not have any income, so I want her to be well covered if I pass away. The insurance company sent a questionnaire with many questions about my health, which I answered honestly.

Unfortunately, last month I detected a lump on my neck, and after several medical tests I have been diagnosed with cancer. My concern now is that the insurance company rejects to pay my wife the amount established, alleging that as I took the policy a little while ago, I have hidden relevant information.

Could they refuse to pay?

Technically they couldn’t, as if you did not know that you suffered that illness, you did not hide any information. Sadly, it is quite usual that insurance companies try to avoid the payment of compensations using any kind of ruse or excuse, so if this is finally your case it will be very important that you can prove, by means of the medical reports obtained, that you only discovered about the illness after taking the policy.