Life insurance gives you peace of mind, ensuring your loved ones will be financially protected after you pass away. But because insurance companies don’t automatically know when a policyholder passes away, the responsibility for claiming falls on the shoulders of the beneficiary. The policyholder must let the beneficiary know about the insurance. This can be a difficult and uncomfortable conversation, but it’s necessary. Some insurance companies will review death records, such as master death files, but this process can take years. If you think your claim hasn’t been paid yet, it’s time to search through unclaimed life insurance policies to find any that may have been forgotten or overlooked. Bankrate can help you get started on the right path.
How to Find Unclaimed Life Insurance Policies
If you think a loved one took out a life insurance policy but never told you about it, or if you recently lost someone and think you might have unclaimed benefits, you need to know how to track down unclaimed life insurance. Luckily, there are a few ways to start your search.
First, gather key details about the deceased person, such as their name, date of birth, Social Security number, previous addresses, etc. Once you have this information, follow these steps to increase your chances of finding an unclaimed life insurance policy:
Search for insurance policy documents
If the person who died was recent, it may be easy to find insurance documentation, such as premium payment receipts or bank statements showing direct debits. Also, check address books and electronic devices (if you have access) for any insurance-related transactions or correspondence.
If you are the executor of the deceased person’s estate, check any safe deposit boxes or personal files where documents are kept. Also, if you had power of attorney, you could visit the deceased person’s bank and request paper statements. This will allow you to see who premiums were paid to, even if you don’t have access to the deceased person’s online bank account.
Making use of a lost policy locator
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ Life Insurance Policy Lookup Service and similar services allow consumers who believe they are the beneficiary of a life insurance policy to submit a search for a life insurance policy by name and ask the insurance company to review their files. These systems act as unclaimed life insurance databases for individuals who need a starting point for obtaining policy information.
Search for insurance companies
If you can find proof of insurance and identify the insurance company, most of your work is done. Beneficiaries who cannot find the insurance company listed on the policy should contact their state’s insurance department.
If you know your insurance company, follow their procedures to file a claim. Once you have provided all the information and the insurance company approves your claim, they will usually pay you in a timely manner.
Make sure you’re searching in the right state
You need to know where the insurance was purchased. The state in which the deceased died may not be the same as the state in which the life insurance was purchased. To find unclaimed life insurance, look into states where the deceased may have previously lived. Once you find the correct state, you can use that state’s Department of Insurance (DOI) site, which contains a tool for searching insurance policies.
If an insurance company goes bankrupt, the DOI should have a record of what happened to the policy.
Financial Search
Financial connections are professionals who handled the deceased person’s finances. These could be accountants, financial planners, or insurance agents. Financial services professionals are likely to know the life insurance policy, have copies of the policy proving you are a beneficiary, and may be able to provide you with details of the policy. Before a financial professional can release any information, you may need to provide information to verify their identity, or to prove that they are an executor or hold power of attorney for the deceased.
Searching Unclaimed Property Files
MissingMoney.com is a database recommended by the National Unclaimed Property Association (NAUPA) that allows you to search for unclaimed property in most states. NAUPA maintains a web tool for searching unclaimed mature life insurance policies. To begin your search, simply enter the name of the deceased, their city, and their state of residence, and you can conduct your research online.
Contacting the deceased person’s former employers
Most life insurance purchased through an employer is term insurance, which provides coverage only for the duration of employment, but may continue coverage after retirement. It is a good idea to check with previous employers, trade unions or professional associations to find out which companies the deceased person had life insurance with, then contact the insurance company directly.
Many companies won’t provide specific information about how long an employee has worked there other than their job title, so asking which life insurance company they use is a way to get around this issue.
Pay for professional services
If you think you might have a life insurance policy in your name but aren’t sure where to start, a professional search of the Medical Information Bureau (MIB) database may be helpful. The MIB is a central hub where life insurance companies store sensitive, coded information about your health conditions and risk factors. For $75, you can request a search of this database to find policies that may list you as a beneficiary.
In addition to MIB, you might also consider a service like Policy Inspector, which will conduct a comprehensive life insurance policy search for $119. Policy Inspector digs deeper to help you find potential policies from a variety of insurance companies. Both services incur a fee, but if you’re confident that you have unclaimed policies, they could be a worthwhile investment.
Once you have found an insurance company, the next step is to contact them directly to see if your insurance is still valid and to find out about the claims process.
Unclaimed Life Insurance Benefits Act
Unclaimed Life Insurance Benefits laws, not available in all states, are intended to bridge the knowledge gap between life insurance companies and official government documentation of deaths. The law requires life insurance companies to compare their records with the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) Death Master File to identify policyholders who may be deceased. The purpose of the law is to facilitate the proper transfer of unclaimed life insurance benefits to the rightful beneficiaries. If a beneficiary cannot be found after a certain number of years, the insurance company must transfer the unclaimed benefits to the state’s tax department as unclaimed property.
This legislation could help beneficiaries of life insurance policies by reducing the number of unclaimed policies and accelerating the process of learning the maturity dates of life insurance policies. In many cases, notifying life insurance companies is the responsibility of the deceased’s surviving family members. This legislation allows for an alternative that shifts the responsibility for providing information back to the insurance company. Compared to the SSA’s Death Master File, it is less likely that an insurance company will be unaware of a policyholder’s death.
This law has not yet been signed into state law in all states, so it is not in effect in all states. However, many insurers choose to comply with the requirements even in states where the law has not been signed. Check the DOI website for state regulations to see if your state has passed this law.
How to prevent unclaimed life insurance claims
Although the deceased person cannot provide information about insurance policies, you can take steps to prevent this from happening again in the future.
If you have life insurance, let your loved ones know about it so they won’t be left without the death benefit when you die. Provide details about your insurance, including the insurance company, policy number, and amount of coverage. To help the insurance company locate you, give the insurance company as many details about the beneficiary as possible, including name, address, and Social Security number. It’s also a good idea to keep your life insurance documents in a safe place so your family can refer to them if they need to.
