Who can I get to help me find Unclaimed Insurance Money?

Question

My Aunt died,and left me some insurance money.Her evil daughter destroyed it,and I do not know the name of the Insurance Company.I spoke with an Attorney,but he was unable to help me,because I didn't know the name of the Insurance Company.

Who can I get to help me find it?Would it be a Private Investigator or something?♥

Answer 1

The evil daughter cannot destroy insurance money - she doesn't have access to it.  YOu don't need the policy to claim the money.  Once a claim is filed, the checks are mailed DIRECTLY to the beneficiaries.  

This is not a matter of public record.  There is no database where you can look it up, or a PI, either.  

IF you are executor of the estate - highly unlikely - you can pay a fee to MIB and they'll tell you if any applications have been submitted within the past ten years, on her.  OR you can get copies of her bank statements to show which company she'd been paying.

It's extremely unlikely that someone names a niece/nephew as beneficiary INSTEAD of their own child.    And most people, like 70%, die with no life insurance in force.  If she left the money to her daughter, with the instruction in her will that she's supposed to give some of it to you, it's not enforcable - you CANNOT direct policy procedes via a will.  

So whatever gave you the idea she HAD life insurance, and listed you as beneficiary?  Your best bet - assuming you are not executor - is to track down that lead.   Otherwise, I think you just have to walk away, and assume that there is, indeed, no insurance money.

Answer 2

Did your aunt leave you money in a will that were proceeds from an insurance policy? Or did she name you as a beneficiary of an insurance policy? Those are two different things. Since your question is in the insurance category, the answerers are focusing on the insurance beneficiary question. If it is a question of a will, consult an attorney.

Answer 3

Unfortunately, there's no clearinghouse of information on life insurance policies. Here are some suggestions:

Go through canceled checks or contact your deceased relative's bank for copies of old checks. If he or she wrote checks to pay premiums, the insurer's name should be listed on the checks.

Check old credit card statements. Your relative may have paid premiums by credit card.

Check probate court records for details of your relative's estate. If the estate has gone through or is in probate court, a life insurance policy could show up as an asset.

Contact any past employers to see if your relative had group life insurance.

Contact other family members (i.e., brothers, sisters, or children) who may have been privy to your relative's finances. Perhaps they will know if he or she had insurance and from whom it was purchased. Also ask your relative's lawyer, banker, or accountant.

Track down your relative's auto or home insurance agents. They may have sold him or her a life insurance policy or at least know from whom it may have been purchased. The agent can also query the home office of the company to determine if there is a policy on file for that client. Under the new HIPPA guidelines, there may be legal requirements before any information can be released, but you will know what the policy is there to make the request.

If your relative bought life insurance fairly recently, there might be a trail of the companies to which he/she applied. The Medical Information Bureau maintains a database that might show if insurers requested your relative's medical information within the past seven years. Record searches can be requested through the Disclosure Office of the MIB and cost $8.50.

Keep in mind that if no beneficiary comes forward to collect the death benefit, and your relative's insurance company cannot locate a beneficiary, the insurer has to hand over the death benefit to the state within a certain period of time (usually three years, although it varies by state). After the state receives the death benefit, a beneficiary still can come forward to collect the proceeds.

Go to your states website and they should have a page to search for unclaimed funds. In VA the search is onthe Department of Treasury page. It can be kind of hard to find.