Lost Life Insurance: How to Find Your Details
What if you had thousands of dollars available to you, but you didn't realize it? Every year, thousands of people are cheated out of hundreds of millions of dollars for one simple reason - they don't know that they can claim it. The money is in the form of unclaimed life insurance benefits - benefits that should have been paid out on the death of a family member or loved one, but wasn't because the beneficiary either didn't know that the policy existed or had lost life insurance details required to make a claim.
The Reason is Simple
You might ask how this can be, but think for a moment. Can you name the company that holds your father's policy? Without that information, you have no way to launch a claim for life insurance benefits. Many families find it difficult to talk about final arrangements, including arrangements they've made to care for their loved ones after their own deaths. Too often, this awkwardness keeps them from sharing important information with family members. The end result is that their family members may know that there was a life insurance policy, but don't know any of the details required to file a claim for the benefits. Without that information, the insurance benefit stays with the company - all because of a lost insurance policy or lost life insurance information.
Prevention
These five simple tips can help ensure that your family has the information they need to locate policies and claim money you intend for them to have.
Keep an up-to-date list of all your policies, annuities, retirement accounts and any other account you own that will pay out a death benefit or pass to your heirs upon your death. Make sure that at least one person knows where to find that list in the event of your death.
List your policies on a searchable life insurance database. There are free services that allow you to list the names of the companies that hold your policies, so your survivors can search the database for unclaimed life insurance policies or find lost life insurance policies with a simple search.
Give a list of your policies and other important information to a trusted friend or advisor to be held in case of your death.
Keep all of your important papers in a safe deposit box to which a trusted relative, friend or adviser has access. This is a good option if you'd rather not share the information but want to be sure that your family doesn't have to deal with the hassles of a lost insurance policy after your death.
Finding a Lost Policy
If you're on the other side of the fence, there are some tools and tips that can help you locate life insurance policies.
Look through any records and papers left behind by your loved one to find any policies you may not know of.
Look for canceled checks or other records of payments made to companies to help you find lost insurance.
Search a missing life insurance database.
Insurance policies are meant to protect loved ones left behind, but they can't do that if your family members can't find the policy. Take the time to register your policy with a lost insurance database and make it easier for your family to go on.
The Reason is Simple
You might ask how this can be, but think for a moment. Can you name the company that holds your father's policy? Without that information, you have no way to launch a claim for life insurance benefits. Many families find it difficult to talk about final arrangements, including arrangements they've made to care for their loved ones after their own deaths. Too often, this awkwardness keeps them from sharing important information with family members. The end result is that their family members may know that there was a life insurance policy, but don't know any of the details required to file a claim for the benefits. Without that information, the insurance benefit stays with the company - all because of a lost insurance policy or lost life insurance information.
Prevention
These five simple tips can help ensure that your family has the information they need to locate policies and claim money you intend for them to have.
Keep an up-to-date list of all your policies, annuities, retirement accounts and any other account you own that will pay out a death benefit or pass to your heirs upon your death. Make sure that at least one person knows where to find that list in the event of your death.
List your policies on a searchable life insurance database. There are free services that allow you to list the names of the companies that hold your policies, so your survivors can search the database for unclaimed life insurance policies or find lost life insurance policies with a simple search.
Give a list of your policies and other important information to a trusted friend or advisor to be held in case of your death.
Keep all of your important papers in a safe deposit box to which a trusted relative, friend or adviser has access. This is a good option if you'd rather not share the information but want to be sure that your family doesn't have to deal with the hassles of a lost insurance policy after your death.
Finding a Lost Policy
If you're on the other side of the fence, there are some tools and tips that can help you locate life insurance policies.
Look through any records and papers left behind by your loved one to find any policies you may not know of.
Look for canceled checks or other records of payments made to companies to help you find lost insurance.
Search a missing life insurance database.
Insurance policies are meant to protect loved ones left behind, but they can't do that if your family members can't find the policy. Take the time to register your policy with a lost insurance database and make it easier for your family to go on.