To answer your questions about life insurance:

Whether a policy pays out is completely dependent on what the policy states. Every company is a little different and even polices within the same company can vary depending on the date it was issues or the type of product.

In most cases the driver would be eligible to collect the claim if an accident kills his/her spouse (as in your example) as long as it's not as a result of a criminal act on his part.

In general, if it is a single vehicle roll over it doesn't automatically mean that there was someone criminally at fault. It could have been a defensive move to avoid wildlife, it could have been a vehicle's malfunction or just simply a mistake (IE: over shooting a turn is not criminal, it's a mistake or misjudgement). Some policies also don't deny a claim even if alchohol is a factor for the driver (again, depends on the company and when the policy was issued).

If the driver dies and the passenger survives and it's within the first 2 years shouldn't have any relavence. All claims, whether within 2 years or not are subject to investigation to make sure it's valid and make sure it's not a fraudulent claim. Regarding the suicide question within 2 years, unless the passenger makes a statement claiming that the dirvers stated their intentions were clearly to commit suicide through this accident, the claim should be valid.

And for the record, Katrina was a hurricane, not a flood. That is likely where the difference in whether a claim was valid or not. Strong winds would have knocked down the tree, a basement full of water would not have done that. Unfortunately, most people blame their own misunderstandings or lack of proper planning on someone else saying it was a loophole or "they screwed me", when that's not the case.

Dan B: When you apply for insurance you need to be able to justify the amount applied for. Chances of a minimum wage earner getting even $1 million would be seriously pushing it unless they were the heir to a large fortune or were very young and bought the policy with the intentions of getting a better job in the future that would justify the amount.