How to find insurance policies of deceased

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If you suspect that a loved one had a life policy, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) has created a Life Insurance Policy Locator service to help consumers locate benefits from life insurance policies or annuity contracts purchased anywhere in the United States.  The companies will search their records to determine whether they have life policies or annuity contracts and will contact you directly only if they find a policy in the name of the deceased and you are the designated beneficiary or authorized legal representative. This service is free of charge. Prior to utilizing this service, you are required to conduct a diligent search of the deceased person's records.

The following tips may assist you in your search:

• Look through the decedent's records, including safety deposit box.

• Contact previous employer as the individual may be a certificate holder of an employer-provided group life policy.

• Check bank accounts and canceled checks to see if payment was being made to a life insurance company.

• Check with the decedent's auto or home insurance agent as they may have purchased life insurance through them.

• Review the decedent's income tax records.

• Check the State Controller's Office Life Insurance Settlement Property Search engine or call them at 800-992-4647. Life insurance companies are required to annually report and deliver property to the California State Controller's Office after there has been no activity on the account or contact with the owner for a period of time specified in the law, generally three years or more.  

If you find a life insurance policy for a deceased relative but cannot locate the company, you can call our Consumer Hotline at 1-800-927-4357 or check the Company Profile on our Website to obtain address and phone contact information.

When a loved one dies, sorting through everything they left behind can seem overwhelming. And while dealing with paperwork while you're grieving is the last thing you want to do, life insurance benefits can be crucial for covering funeral costs, settling the person's debts or helping surviving family members pay their bills.

What if you don't know whether your loved one had life insurance or you can't locate their policy? To find a loved one's lost insurance policy, you can search their records, contact their financial advisors or check their safe deposit box. Read on for other ways to find a missing life insurance policy.

1. Search Their Files

Look through your loved one's paper and computer files for the life insurance policy. You may find a copy of an application for life insurance, which can also help: In addition to indicating a possible insurance policy, the application will include a list of any other life insurance policies they had at the time they submitted their application.

2. Search Online

• Use the Life Insurance Policy Locator Service, a free tool from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. When you submit a request using this tool, participating insurance carriers are asked to search for policies.
• Use your state insurance department's policy finder, which will direct your inquiry to all participating life insurance companies that sell policies within that state.
• If your state doesn't have an online policy finder, contact your state's insurance department for help locating the policy.

3. Ask Their Financial Advisors

Your loved one's financial planner, accountant, attorney or insurance agent may know of existing life insurance policies.

4. Contact Their Home or Auto Insurance Company

People often bundle multiple types of insurance, such as buying homeowners insurance and life insurance from the same company. Contact the claims or customer service department of the company where your loved one had home or auto insurance to see if there is also a life insurance policy.

5. Contact Their Current and Former Employers

Many employers offer group term life insurance as an employee benefit. Some companies even offer this insurance to spouses or dependents. Check with past and current employers of your loved one, their surviving spouse and their children for life insurance policies through their company.

6. Look Through Their Bank Records

Bank statements or checks showing payments to insurance companies could help you track down a life insurance policy. You may need to contact bank officials to access their records and provide proof that you are entitled to this information.

7. Check Their Safe Deposit Box

If you have the key to your loved one's safe deposit box, ask the bank how to gain access. You'll likely have to provide documents proving your kinship. If you're not sure whether they had a safe deposit box, you can contact the bank where they had their accounts, look through canceled checks or bank records for payments to a bank, or watch their mail for notices requesting payment for the box.

8. Contact Organizations to Which Your Loved One Belonged

Contact professional associations, labor unions, fraternal organizations, credit unions and other groups that your loved one belonged to. Like employers, organizations often offer group term life insurance for members.

9. Review Their Tax Returns

Income tax returns may show interest income from a permanent life insurance policy with cash value. If your family member borrowed against a life insurance policy, the returns should show any interest paid on the loan.

10. Watch Their Mail and Email

Life insurance companies often send bills, statements, dividend notices and other updates. Monitor the person's mail and email for at least a year for this type of letter. Have physical mail redirected to your address or a P.O. box to prevent it from falling into the hands of identity thieves.