In the real world, people often inform their beneficiaries that they purchased life insurance coverage to cover expenses when they are no more. They will also inform them about the insurance company they bought life insurance from and the paperwork to file a claim when needed. Unfortunately, not every policyholder does this, causing most beneficiaries to ask how to find a lost life insurance policy.
Most policyholders do not like to talk about death with their families to avoid instilling fear in them. This is one of the reasons why they do not inform them about their life insurance. Not keeping your beneficiaries aware may lead to the loss of your life insurance policy. However, it is not impossible to find a lost life insurance policy.
Losing your life insurance policy may be very easy but difficult to retrieve. If your or a loved one’s life insurance is missing and you need to find it, this write-up contains different steps to finding a lost life insurance policy.
Ways to Find a Lost Life Insurance Policy
Recently, how to find a lost life insurance policy has been addressed by most insurance companies, making it easier for people to find their way around it. There are different ways to find a lost life insurance policy. Through names, records, and so on, you can easily find the lost policy. However, some of the ways to find life insurance are:
Whether or not the policyholder is still alive
If you lost your life insurance policy and you have been regularly paying your life insurance premiums, you may be able to get another copy of your life insurance policy. Just contact your insurer and explain the situation, and you can easily get a new copy of your lost insurance policy.
You will need to first confirm your identity before the insurance company will provide you with a new copy. However, in cases where the policyholder is deceased and their life insurance policy is missing. Their beneficiaries will file a claim with the insurance company. They do not necessarily need to provide the policy paperwork to file a claim.
Review personal records
People’s records and documents contain all the evidence for their life insurance policies. If the policyholder is deceased, the beneficiaries may review their records, mail, and documents for their life insurance policy. Checking bank statements may also be a way to find a lost insurance policy. This is because bank statements may also show proof of payments for life insurance premiums.
Another way to find lost policies is through tax returns. They may also show cash value interest or other payments made to the insurance company on their life insurance policy. All these can be done as long as you know the name of the deceased loved one’s life insurance company and can file a claim.
Seek financial advice from advisors.
You may seek advice from trusted financial advisors, accountants, insurance agents, or a personal lawyer. This may also be a good way to find lost life insurance policies. This is because these people may be aware of the deceased loved one’s life insurance policy. You may also consider seeking help from trusted friends, spiritual advisors, or any other important person.
Confirm with your loved one’s home and automotive insurers
People often buy different kinds of insurance policies from one insurance company. If you can find documentation of your loved one’s auto or home insurance, you can check with those companies to see if they also have a life insurance policy in their company.
Get in Touch with Their Employers
Most employers offer a type of life insurance to their employees. Even if your deceased loved one is already retired, you can still check with their employer or former employer to confirm if the life insurance coverage is still active.
Communicate with trade unions and other professional associations.
Veterans associations, trade unions, alumni associations, and other types of professional and social organizations most often offer group life insurance coverage to their members. If your loved one was a member of any of these groups, Communicate with them to check if they have life insurance policy coverage.
Check online databases.
Different online databases can help you find the life insurance policy of a loved one. An example of these databases is the MIB Underwriting Group Database, which contains the life insurance policy records of a person. Through them, you can check if there is an active life insurance policy purchased by your loved one. Another database is the NAIC Life Insurance Policy Locator, which allows you to submit a request for different life insurance companies to check their records to see if your loved one has a life insurance policy.
Check public records.
Life insurance policies may be stated in public records. First, you will need to check the will of your loved one because it may be listed there. However, if your loved one was divorced, their life insurance policies may be stated in the documents involved.