Find Out if Someone Has a Life Insurance Policy

When a loved one passes away, one crucial task is handling financial affairs and funeral arrangements. Life insurance can cover the costs of burial services. It can also reduce the stress of managing a deceased relative’s financial matters during a trying time. As of 2013, over $1 billion of life insurance policies had gone unclaimed.

Steps

Searching Financial Records

1. Gather important documents. Your first step in determining whether your loved one had life insurance is to gather all documents related to their death.
   • For example, get a copy of their will, if they had one, and death certificate. Some people put information about life insurance policies in their wills. These documents may also help with your search for more information.
   • Often a court will decide the validity of a will and supervise the distribution of a deceased person's assets. This is called "probating." If your loved one’s estate has been probated, you can look at the probate records to see if the life insurance policy came up as an asset.
2. Look through financial papers. If you have access to your loved one's financial papers, look through them for evidence of a life insurance policy.
   • Pay close attention to any paperwork related to insurance. It is possible that you can find a life insurance policy bundled with other policies you already know about. Many people bundle life insurance with car or home insurance.
3. Search checking accounts for payments. Look for evidence that your loved one made premium payments. Look at bill payments, cancelled checks, and bank statements for any sign of insurance payments.
   • Also check credit card statements for the past several years. Some policy holders will pay premiums with credit.
4. Check any safe deposit boxes. Many people keep important documents in a safe deposit box, in case of burglary or fires. If your loved one had a safe deposit box, check it for any important financial documents.

Using Online Tools

1. Visit your state’s Department of Insurance. Some states have online locator tools which you can use to search for a missing life insurance policy. California, Texas, and Ohio all collect your information and then contact the life insurance companies. You provide information either through an online Lookup Tool or submit a paper application.
   • For example, the California State Controller’s Office has an online Life Insurance Settlement Property Search tool. You can use it to find policies that list you as a beneficiary. The online search tool only lists beneficiaries who are or were in California.
   • The search tools will ask you for the last name, first name, middle initial and city of the property holder. The search results will provide a name, address, ID number of the claim and type.
   • Ohio has a form you can download and print off. The form asks for your contact information and the policy holder’s. The form must be notarized before being mailed to the Department of Insurance.
   • If the state finds the policy, it should contact you and tell you where it is. Some policies will still be in the possession of the insurance company. Others may have been turned over to the state already.
2. Visit free websites. Websites such as missingmoney.com and unclaimed.org allow users to find their state’s unclaimed property website. If your relative died more than a few years ago, it is possible the benefits from a life insurance policy have been turned over to the state. Both websites are affiliated with the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA).
   • Missingmoney.com allows you to search for unclaimed assets with a simple search tool. It asks for your first and last name and your state. It will search the state’s unclaimed property database for any property linked to your name.
   • To look for a life insurance policy for a deceased loved one, put his or her first and last name into the database.
   • Unclaimed.org allows you to click on your state to find your state's unclaimed property website. Some states may require you to register before you can conduct any searches on their websites.
   • Claiming property from the state is free, but you will have to provide records supporting your claim. These requirements will vary from state to state but generally include proof of your identify and the policy holder’s death certificate.
3. Contact major insurance providers directly. Some of the largest insurers in the United States have free Life Insurance Locator Tools for you to use at their websites. MetLife, New York Life, and Lincoln National all have tools.
   • To begin, make sure you have the following information for your loved one: name, date of birth, date of death, and last known address.
   • You will then enter this information into the search engine. You will also be prompted to enter your contact information, so that the insurance company can get back to you after its search.
4. Pay a private company for a search. There are several companies that will search for a lost life insurance policy. Each of them charges different rates. The three most popular private company locators are MIB, L.L.I.F.E., and Policy Inspector.
   • For $75, MIB will search the records of anyone who has applied for insurance. It has kept records for around seven years. You can click on the “Policy Locator Service” link on their website.
   • The MIB response rate is around 30%. Also, there is no free option; you have to pay the $75.
   • L.L.I.F.E. charges $108.50 and contacts around 400 companies.
   • Policy Inspector contacts over 500 life insurance companies and charges a $99 one-time fee.

Talking to Others

1. Talk to employers. Another approach is to talk to people who might be able to provide information about your loved one's policy. A good place to start is with people your loved one worked for.
   • Ask employers if your loved one purchased life insurance as part of a company benefits package.
   • Additionally, you can inquire with unions or associations that your loved one belonged to. Sometimes these entities offer life insurance.
2. Talk to friends or family members. Close associates of your loved one like friends or other family members might know if she or he had insurance. They may be able to tell you where to find information about the policy.
3. Ask your loved one's attorney or accountant. People often discuss their insurance policies with these individuals.
   • Try to speak with the attorney who drafted your loved one’s will. They may have discussed life insurance during the drafting of the will.
4. Talk to the insurance agent for a different policy. Often consumers will buy more than one insurance product through the same agent. Contact any agent or agents who sold your loved one an automobile or property insurance policy and ask if they also sold a life insurance policy.
   • These agents may have also sold your loved one a life insurance policy or referred him or her to someone who did.

Tips

• If you find a policy for your loved one, determine whether it was a “term life insurance policy” or a “universal life plan.” Term insurance policies will only pay out a benefit if the deceased was paying premiums on the policy when he or she passed away. Universal life plans keep their value even if the deceased was not paying at the time of his or her death. The money in these types of policies acts as a type of “savings account,” so there may be value in the policy even if it has not been paid on in a while.
• Review income taxes for the past 2 years to ensure that you have the most comprehensive information.
• Check the mail for a year or more as life insurance information typically arrives on an annual basis.
• It's a good idea to consult a lawyer before searching for information on another person’s life insurance.
• If you have a life insurance policy yourself, make sure you tell your beneficiaries about it. Let them know where to find the documentation for the policy.
• If you find one life insurance carrier, ask if they know about the insured person's policies with other carriers. People often carry life insurance policies with more than one company.

Warnings

• Be wary of companies or law firms offering to collect money owed to you from missingmoney.com or unclaimed.org. The state unclaimed property department will not charge you to collect your property. You should be able to make a claim without a lawyer.
• Several states have sued life insurance companies for making no effort to find beneficiaries. These companies kept the money after policy holders died. If you believe that a loved one who died more than a few years ago had a policy, contact the insurance company directly. You can also call your state attorney general’s office of consumer protection to inquire about any past or ongoing lawsuit.

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Sources and Citations

See also

• Contest a Life Insurance Beneficiary
• Cancel Life Insurance

What links here

• Become a Life Insurance Agent
• File Taxes for a Deceased Person