Earlier this year, my brother-in-law passed away. We didn’t know whether he had a life insurance policy, or who was going to pay for the funeral, so I went down the rabbit hole of figuring out how to find a missing life insurance policy. Below is what I learned.
Before you start your search, make sure to collect the necessary documents and information. An old copy of the policy is ideal, but in the absence of that, you will need to do some digging. You will likely need the following information about the deceased:
- Full name (possibly maiden name)
- Social Security number
- Copy of the death certificate (may need to be notarized).
When it comes to your own life policy, here’s how to avoid having a missing life insurance policy scenario for your loved ones.
FIRST STEPS FOR LOCATING A LIFE INSURANCE POLICY
Contact the Insurance Company
If you know the name of the insurance company, you can reach out to them directly. You may need to provide proof of beneficiary status, such as a driver’s license or social security number, and the policyholder’s death certificate.
Check Personal Documents
Look through the deceased’s personal files, including paper and digital records. You may want to check bank statements, safety deposit boxes, tax returns, and other financial documents. Bank statements may show charges from the life insurance company or automated payments for premiums.
Contact Their Financial Advisor, Lawyer, Accountant or Insurance Agent
Reach out to your loved one’s financial advisor, accountant, or lawyer, if applicable. They might have information about existing life policies. Talk with their auto or homeowners’ insurance agent as well. It’s possible this agent also wrote their life insurance policy.
Contact Previous Employers
Contact the HR department of the deceased person’s most recent employer. Many employers offer life insurance to their employees.
NEXT STEPS TO TAKE IF YOU STILL CAN’T LOCATE A POLICY
Use the NAIC’s Life Insurance Policy Locator
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) offers a Life Insurance Policy Locator service. This tool can help you find policies by submitting a search request with the deceased’s information. The NAIC then makes this request available for insurers to find, who will then reach out to the beneficiary if a policy is found. This tool does require that you have already done a diligent search of the deceased person’s records and property, and asked family members to identify all life insurance policies and annuity contracts.
Contact the State Insurance Department
Each state has a department of insurance that can assist in locating lost policies.
Check Unclaimed Property Databases
Check databases like the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA) or MissingMoney.com, which is the official unclaimed property website of the National Association of State Treasurers.
Check With the State’s Unclaimed Property Office
If an insurance company can’t find the rightful owner of unclaimed money, they may turn it over to the state after a certain period of time. Typically, when life insurance companies that know an insured has passed, but cannot locate the beneficiaries of the policy, they are required to turn over the benefits of the policy to the state’s unclaimed property office. This is after a certain number of years.
AVOIDING A MISSING LIFE INSURANCE POLICY SCENARIO FOR YOUR LOVED ONES
Update your beneficiary information.
Make sure your life insurance company has current contact details for all listed beneficiaries. We’ve had clients who forgot to update their beneficiaries after divorce, marriage, or having additional children and didn’t realize their beneficiaries were out of date until years later.
Alert your beneficiaries of the policy.
Provide them with the name of your agent and/or the name of the company that wrote the policy. If it is through your employer, make them aware of that and proved contact info for the HR department.
Store a Secure Copy of the Policy
Place a current copy of your policy with your will or estate paperwork in a safe place where your family or beneficiaries will look for it and have access. Also consider asking your insurance company for an annual policy statement if one isn’t provided.
We don’t like to think about the end of our lives, but one thing that can make an already stressful time easier for the ones we love is eliminating the financial burden of funeral and other costs by having a life insurance policy in place. Contact us if you would like to learn more about life insurance.
In case you missed it – we have created a guide on What Policyholders Need to Know About Home & Auto Insurance.
We hope this information helps you to make more strategic insurance decisions. We’d love to hear from you – please reach out! We are here to help.
