With life insurance, the person who buys the policy is very often not the one who will be making a claim on the policy.
If a policy’s named beneficiaries are not even aware of the policy, it’s easy to see how the money can go unclaimed. What does a life insurer do to help bridge this gap?
How To Find Out If You’re A Beneficiary
Life insurance companies find beneficiaries in two ways. The most common way is to refer to the information that the policyholder provided at the time of application. The other way is for the life insurance company to search public records to determine who is legally entitled to the policy’s death benefits.
Companies usually notify recipients through a letter in the mail. The letter will inform the designated beneficiary of the insured’s death and provide instructions on how to proceed with claiming the life insurance benefit. If there are multiple beneficiaries, the letter will also give instructions on dividing the benefit among them. If the life insurance company is unable to locate anyone, then the benefit typically will go to the deceased’s estate.
If you need information about a life insurance policy, the best place to start is the insurance policy itself. The policy should contain the policyholder’s name and associated contact information, as well as specific details about the policy, such as the policy number, effective date, and the primary and contingent beneficiaries that were named.
If you need access to the policy itself (and are wondering whether a life insurance policy exists in the first place), then the next best step is to contact the life insurance company. The insurance carrier should be able to provide information about the policy, such as the policy number, premium amount, and beneficiary information.
Note that you will need to provide the insured’s social security number and their driver’s license number to request information about a family member’s unclaimed life insurance policy.
Some life insurers will require you to provide a copy of the policyholder’s death certificate to access this information.
If you no longer remember the life insurance company’s name, you can contact third-party services such as the National Association of Insurance Agents and Brokers or the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. These two organizations maintain databases of all active life insurance companies.
(If your loved one has had their policy for mutliple decades, there is a good chance that their insurance company changed names given how many mergers and acquisitions are done in the industry.)
Another good resource is your state’s Department of Insurance. You can find contact info for all state insurance departments using this lookup tool.
If you’re wondering whether a life insurance policy exists in the first place (or are worried about a lost life insurance policy), there are several steps you can take, as we’ll go through below.
The easiest way to determine if someone has life insurance is to look through the deceased’s estate documents, personal records, important documents, and safe deposit boxes.
If you have access to the deceased’s mail and/or financial statements:
You can check bank statements and other personal records to see if your loved one was making life insurance premium payments (and if so, to which company).
The premium payments can also help you estimate the size of the unclaimed life insurance policy’s death benefits.
Family members are often pleasantly surprised to know that there are multiple, free resources that they can access to find a life insurance policy.
The first of these “databases” is your state’s unclaimed property office. States require that banks and insurance companies report on a customer’s assets and submit their customers’ property to the State Controller’s Office when there has been no activity for a period of time (generally three years).
Common types of unclaimed property are bank accounts, stocks, bonds, uncashed checks, insurance benefits, wages, and safe deposit box contents.
Once property has been transferred to your State Controller’s Office, there is no claim deadline. In other words, the state will hold onto those assets until they are reunited with their rightful owner, however long that takes.
The most well-known resource in this area is the life insurance policy locator service provided by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). This locator includes policies from over 600 insurance companies and is free to use.
Individuals who believe they are a named beneficiary on a life insurance policy or are representatives of the deceased person can use this service to submit a search request.
To complete the search request, you will need a certified death certificate for the deceased, which you can get through the funeral home or vital statistics office.
To submit a request, you need to:
The more information you provide about the deceased, the more likely the search will successfully find annuities and other life insurance policies that you did not know existed!
The process for obtaining proof of your life insurance varies depending on the insurer. Generally, you can access documents related to your life insurance online or via mail. If you’re unsure how to access your documentation, the first step is to contact your insurer directly. Many will have a customer service department you can call to discuss your situation and find out how to access your documentation.
It is important to note that all life insurance policies come with a certificate of insurance, which verifies the policy and details your coverage. This certificate is typically sent to you after you purchase your policy and is the primary source of proof.
In addition to the certificate of insurance, your insurer may also issue you other accompanying documents, such as a policy summary and a policy explanation. You can sometimes access these documents online, through your insurer’s website. If you are unable to find the documents online, you can always contact your insurer for assistance.
The policy owner and the insured are the two parties that sign a life insurance policy.
The policy owner is typically the person who pays the premiums. The insured is the person whose death triggers the payment of the policy’s death benefit.
For the policy to be valid, both parties must sign the policy documents to acknowledge that they understand the terms and conditions of the policy, as well as any riders or endorsements associated with it.
Whether you use your loved ones’ financial advisors, your state insurance commissioner’s office, unclaimed property administrators, or the NAIC’s excellent policy search tool, we wish you the best on your search!
When you’re in the early days of grief, it can feel like an additional burden may break you.
Before judging how much they can afford to spend on final expenses, family members are often eager to know if it will be helpful to know if they can count on life insurance benefits.
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