How to Find Life Insurance Information After a Parent Passes

Locating a deceased parent's life insurance policy can help you manage their final affairs. It not only helps in fulfilling their last wishes but also helps ensure financial stability for beneficiaries. Typically, searching for a life insurance policy involves checking personal documents, safe deposit boxes and digital records. Consulting with financial advisors, attorneys or the deceased's employer can also yield valuable information.

Online tools like the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) Life Insurance Policy Locator service can also be instrumental. These methods collectively aid in finding life insurance policies after death, providing a smoother transition during a challenging time.

Here are some other ways to research whether your deceased parent had a life insurance policy:

• Check bank statements: Bank statements can give you insight into whether your parent paid for monthly, quarterly or annual life insurance premiums. Look for a consistent monthly payment amount and examine the payee to determine if your parent had a life insurance policy you are unaware of.
• Check mail or email: Insurers may have sent periodic updates and newsletters to your deceased loved one. If you have access to your parent’s email, you may want to check there.
• Check for life insurance applications from other policies they owned: If your parent has other life insurance policies, reviewing these applications might provide leads for a life insurance policy lookup. This should come with a list of policies owned at the time of their application.
• Review income tax returns: Tax returns that include information on payments to insurance companies, such as income tax returns, can assist in searching for life insurance policies. If you can find your parent’s income tax return, you may be able to spot any interest income or expenses paid.
• Contact state insurance departments: Your state's insurance department can forward your inquiry to licensed agencies, which can help you find your parent's policy. The agency will contact you when it has tracked it down. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners Life Insurance Policy Locator can also be a valuable resource for finding a life insurance policy after death.
• Check with the state’s unclaimed property office: Unclaimed death benefits can be given to your state’s unclaimed property office, which is responsible for holding such benefits. Contact your state’s unclaimed property office to see if its unclaimed life insurance database has information on your parent’s life insurance policy benefits.
• Hire a private search firm: If all else fails and you aren’t sure where to look, you can hire a private search firm to track down a deceased parent’s life insurance policy. It can search for life insurance policies using other avenues you may not be aware of.

When locating a deceased parent's life insurance policy, having the right information at your disposal is critical. Equipping yourself with comprehensive details enhances the effectiveness of your search for a life insurance policy, whether you're using a free life insurance policy locator or consulting life insurance policy finders like the National Association of Insurance Commissioners Life Insurance Policy Locator.

Here's a list of standard information you may need:

• Full name of the deceased: Including any maiden names or aliases they may have used.
• Social Security number: A critical identifier for most financial and legal documents.
• Date of birth and death: Essential for verifying identity and policy details.
• Last-known addresses: Helps track down policies and any correspondence from insurance companies.
• Employment history: Useful for identifying employer-provided life insurance policies.
• Financial records: Bank statements may show premium payments to insurance companies.
• Personal contacts: Names and contact details of financial advisors, lawyers or accountants who might know about the policy.
• Existing insurance documents: Any related insurance paperwork, even if it's not directly for life insurance.
• Email and digital account access: To check for digital correspondence or online policy management.
• Membership in unions or associations: These organizations sometimes offer life insurance benefits to their members.

This information will streamline your search, allowing you to approach insurance companies, legal professionals and life insurance locator services with the necessary details to uncover any existing life insurance policies.

Only specific people can request information about a deceased policyholder’s life insurance. These include:

It's possible to be a life insurance beneficiary and not know it.

In most cases, a beneficiary knows they are one and where to find the paperwork because the policyholder informed them ahead of time. Sometimes, however, a policyholder will forget to notify their beneficiaries.

For instance, if you were a minor child when your parents took out the policy, they may not have thought to inform you when you came of age. A life insurance policy search by social security number or a life insurance policy search by name may help. Utilizing resources such as the NAIC's free Life Insurance Policy Locator can be instrumental. These tools assist in finding life insurance policies after death, ensuring that unclaimed benefits reach the rightful beneficiaries.

A policy will state who the beneficiaries are — if it includes your name, that means you are one.

However, there are no rules or laws regarding who can be a beneficiary. A beneficiary can be a charity, business, trust or person. Your parent could have named someone you don’t know as a beneficiary.

There are two types of beneficiaries: primary and contingent.

• Primary Beneficiary: The primary beneficiaries are the first people to receive the death benefit from a policy.
• Contingent Beneficiary: The contingent beneficiaries are second in line and receive the benefit if the primary beneficiaries have already died.

As a beneficiary, it’s wise to be aware of life insurance scams, as they can lead to identity theft. Scammers can use life insurance to ask for your personal information, claiming it is needed for you to claim the death benefit.

An insurer will pay your parent’s death benefit based on how quickly you request it. Timing is affected by the following factors:

• The length of time after death it took to file a claim
• Whether the beneficiary provided the necessary documentation
• The length of time the policy was active
• The insured’s cause of death
• State laws regarding life insurance payout

In most cases, a beneficiary will receive their payment within 60 days.

Insurers must turn over unclaimed benefits to the state’s unclaimed property office within a given period. Generally, this office is a subsidiary of the state treasurer’s office.

In most states, life insurance companies are required to make good-faith efforts to locate all life insurance beneficiaries. This means regularly checking with a central unclaimed life insurance database called the Death Master File to ensure that they are aware of policyholder deaths.

The National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators offers a valuable service for those seeking unclaimed life insurance benefits. Utilizing this resource allows you to conduct an unclaimed life insurance search to discover if benefits await a claim in your name or for a loved one.

Understanding how to track down and claim a deceased parent’s life insurance can save you time. Here are some answers to commonly asked questions about the process.