Help! death in the family can't find life insurance.?

Question

We had a death in the family and the family member was very secretive about her life insurance paperwork. Here's the deal we know the policy exist,we just don't have the policy or the company name, is there a way to search for this info or find out about the policy?

Answer 1

The policy had to be being paid for some how unless it was paid up whole life(rare but possible).  Check for automatic withdraws and have all mail forwarded looking for a direct mailed bill.

If push comes to shove insurance companies turn unclaimed funds including life insurance over the the state and the state will have a division of unclaimed funds  course it could be years before the insurance company realizes that your family member is dead especially if the policy was paid up whole life.

Answer 2

The next of kin or executor should search the deceased person's personal records - there would be a policy or records of premium payment there.  Many times family members who are "sure" that a person had life insurance turn out to be wrong.

Answer 3

I would start with the local insurance agents.  You have the highest probability of finding the person who issued the policy.  Those insurance agents will require proof that you are part of the immediate family and that can be a hassle.  Failing that I would get ahold of previous months and years of bank statements assuming he/she might have kept them and look for a charge to a insurance agent.

Answer 4

If you have access to her check book, credit card statements or bank statements I would start there.  You may be able to see what company she was paying the premiums to.  Then you could just look up their website to find their customer service department.  

If that doesn't work someone has already mentioned MIB.  They have a lost policy finder service that costs $75.  I've included the link for you.

Answer 5

There's no database, if that's what you mean.

You can go look through her cancelled checks, to find the name of the insurance company she's been paying.  The executor of the estate can ask her bank for cancelled checks, if she didn't keep them.

Or, the executor of the estate can pay MIB $75, fax over proof that they are executor, and MIB will tell them if there have been any applications submitted on her, in the last ten years.

Only the excecutor can do that.   Besides that, you just have to dig through paperwork, get to her safety deposit box, talk to her attorney, employer, and insurance agent, you know, do the legwork.

Because there's no central database.  It's private information.