How to Find Lost Life Insurance

Life insurance provides important protections, and much needed cash, but what do you do if you cannot find a loved one’s life insurance policy after they die? Tracking down a lost life insurance policy can be a difficult and time consuming process, but those who persevere may find themselves rewarded with the funds their lost loved one so carefully set aside for them.

There are a number of places to start the search for a lost life insurance policy but the most obvious place to start is with the insurance company itself. If you know which insurance company provided the coverage you may be able to simply call and speak to a customer service representative and claims specialist. Before you call it is important to gather as much information as you can about the deceased. The insurance company will likely require some identifying information, including the person’s Social Security number, date of birth and the like. The more information you can provide the easier your search will be.

If that initial search turns up nothing you may want to turn to the life insurance agent your family deals with. If you have an independent agent he or she should have records about what type of policy your lost loved one had in place. Again it is important to provide as much identifying information as you can to make the search easier.

If this search still turns up nothing it is a good idea to start contacting all of the large life insurance companies operating in your part of the country. It may take some legwork to gather this list, but it is an important step. Once you have the list of area insurers in hand you can start calling and asking about any policies that may have been in force. When you call be sure to identify yourself and provide all the information you can so that the agent you speak to can locate any existing policies.

If all of these efforts still come up empty it may be time to get your state government involved. Chances are your state has a state insurance commissioner whose job it is to help consumers with insurance related matters. Their staff has access to proprietary databases not available to the general public, so they may be able to locate that lost policy for you. Again it is important to provide as much information as possible in order to expedite this process.

If your efforts are still unsuccessful it may be time to do some additional detective work. . Going back through the checkbook and bank statements may reveal where the premium payments were sent, and this can give you a good starting point and the name of a company to contact. These canceled checks and bank statements can also be important should a dispute about the payment of premiums arise. After you have gathered all the information you need you can approach the insurance company representatives and start the claim process rolling.