Saving You Money For Life

When a loved one dies, the last thing you should have to worry about is locating a lost life insurance policy. That’s why it’s important to be aware of what life insurance company issued the policy, especially if you’re the beneficiary expecting a death benefit. Otherwise, you risk losing that benefit. And if you’re the policyholder, make sure your loved ones are aware of the policy as soon as it is purchased.

Following are tips to locate a lost life insurance policy:

Find payment methods – Look for evidence of premium payments by sorting through your loved one’s financial reports. Look for canceled checks or contact their bank for copies of old checks. If your loved one wrote checks to pay their life insurance premiums, the life insurance company’s name should be written on those checks. Also, some banks sell life insurance policies to customers who own checking or savings accounts, so check with them. Additionally, you should check old credit card statements, as they may have paid their premiums by credit card.

Contact their employer – By contacting your loved one’s employer, you’ll be able to collect information regarding a group life insurance policy, if they had one.

Call brokerage firms – If your loved one purchased a life insurance policy through a life insurance brokerage firm, like AccuQuote, they will have records of the policy and what life insurance company issued it. In addition, if you’re loved one received a term life insurance quote from a brokerage firm, an agent will have information regarding their application status, policy status, etc.

After locating a policy, it’s important to make sure it’s still in force before filing a claim. First, check what type of policy it is, term or permanent. If it’s a term life insurance policy, be sure that the term length has not expired and the premium payments were paid up until death. If your loved one passed away before the policy expired, you’ll be able to receive the death benefit. Alternatively, if they died after the expiration date of the policy, you will not be able to file a claim.

If they had a permanent life insurance policy (which remains “in force” for life unless the premiums were not paid up until death), you’ll collect the death benefit once you file a claim.

For more information on locating a lost life insurance policy, contact an experienced life insurance agent at AccuQuote.

You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.