12 Steps for Locating a Lost Life Insurance Policy

1. Look for insurance-related documents

Search through files, bank safe deposit boxes, and other storage places to see if there are any insurance-related documents. Also, check address books for the names of any insurance professionals or companies—an agent or company who sold the deceased their auto or home insurance may know about the existence of a life insurance policy.

2. Contact financial advisors

Present or prior attorneys, accountants, investment advisors, bankers, business insurance agents/brokers, and other financial professionals might have information about the deceased’s life insurance policies.

3. Review life insurance applications

The application for each policy is attached to that policy. So, if you can find any of the deceased’s life insurance policies, look at the application—it will have a list of any other life insurance policies owned at the time of the application.

4. Contact previous employers

Former employers maintain records of past group policies.

5. Check bank statements

See if any checks or automated payments have been made to life insurance companies over the years.

6. Check the mail

Look for premium or dividend notices for the year following the policyholder’s death. If a policy has been paid up, there will be no notice of premium payments due; however, the company may still send an annual notice regarding the status of the policy or notice of a dividend.

7. Review income tax returns

Look over the deceased’s tax returns for the past two years to see if interest income is from and interest expenses paid to life insurance companies. Life insurance companies pay interest on accumulations on permanent policies and charge interest on policy loans.

8. Contact state insurance departments

Twenty-nine state insurance departments offer free search services to residents looking for lost policies. NAIC – National Association of Insurance Commissioners has a Life Insurance Company Location System to help you find state insurance department officials who can help identify companies that might have written life insurance on the deceased. Go to the NAIC’s Life Insurance Company Location System to access that service.

9. Check with the state’s Unclaimed Property Office

If a life insurance company knows that an insured client has died but can’t find the beneficiary, it must turn the death benefit over to the state where the policy was purchased as “unclaimed property.” If you know (or can guess) where the policy was bought, you can contact the state comptroller’s department to see if it has any unclaimed money from life insurance policies belonging to the deceased. An excellent place to start is the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administration.

10. Contact a private search service

Several private companies will, for a fee, assist you with the search for a lost life insurance policy. They will contact insurance companies on your behalf to determine if the deceased was insured. This service is often provided through a website.

11. Might the policy have originated in Canada?

If the policy might have been purchased in Canada, contact the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association for information.

12. Search the MIB database

There is no central database of policy documents, but there is a database of all applications for individual life insurance processed since January 1, 1996. (nb: There is a fee for each search, and many searches are unsuccessful; a random sample of searches found only one match every four attempts.) For more information, go to MIB’s Consumer Protection page.

Source: Insurance Information Institute