Being an experienced life insurance broker, I get asked a lot of questions from clients, friends and colleagues. One of the toughest questions I get is how to find a lost life insurance policy or to see if a policy exists? This is more common than you might think. It is estimated that there is approximately $1 billion in unclaimed life insurance proceeds, with an average payout of about $2,000 face amount. The answer is not tough, I know the answer. The tough part is finding this lost life insurance policy without any information to go on. The odds are fairly close to finding a needle in a haystack. But there are some things that can be done.
Ideally to find a lost life insurance policy you need to know the life insurance company or the agent or broker that sold that policy. If it is an older family member and no one knows the company name, try to find the insurance agent they used for other insurance such as car, home, health, Medicare supplement plan or liability policy. Sometimes just a name of an agent or advisor can give you help in searching for the policy. Go through all their papers for this name to begin. Without this information it gets really tough from here. So now what?
The first place to try is the NAIC, National Association of Insurance, their website: http://naic.org/state_web_map.htm can put you in touch with your states Department of Insurance or DOI, to see if they have a life insurance was policy filed under the insured’s name in the state. Not all policies are filed unfortunately. If you feel the death claim may have been paid try http://missingmoney.com/ or http://unclaimed.org/ . Both of these sites are free searches as well. I will say their odds have been calculated at about 600 to 1 in having a successful search. These are the same odds as winning $100 on a Powerball ticket. If you have no luck on these three sites for free, there is another good site that does charge a search fee of approximately $75.00 by the MIB Solutions website http://www.mib.com/lost_life_insurance_howto.html . This website boasts a 30% success rate of finding a lost life insurance policy by searching the medical information that was accessed by an underwriter when the policy was purchased. You may want to avoid life settlement agents as there is a high risk of being scammed. Certainly not all life settlement companies are scams by any stretch of the imagination; just do your homework before paying their fees.
Unfortunately, there is no simple way to find a lost life insurance policy. However, there are steps to take to prevent putting your loved ones through this ordeal. Use an experienced trusted advisor for these important documents. A career agent or broker will always have this information and can assist your loved ones in getting a death claim paid in a very timely manner. Avoid purchasing life insurance online with no one to assist you. This valuable service is lost and practically all life insurance advisors do not charge for their expertise or the claims service at your demise. Good luck finding the lost life insurance policy; I know it won’t be easy.
“What love we’ve given, we’ll have forever. What love we fail to give, will be lost for all eternity.”—Leo Buscaglia
Image by Stuart Miles at www.freedigitalphotos.net
Tim Wilhoit is owner/principal of Your Friend 4 Life Insurance Agency in Nashville, TN. He is a family man, father of 3, entrepreneur, insurance agent, life insurance broker, salesman, sales trainer, recruiter, public speaker, blogger and team leader with over 27 years of experience in sales and marketing in the insurance and beverage industries.
This is helpful information to pass off to customers and prospects. The agents that offer helpful information such as what Tim offers helps to brand Tim and the go to source for life insurance.
Thank you for the kind words Jack. I am glad you found it helpful. I am hopeful others will as well.
Good advice Tim. I imagine there are problems with lost policies. At least there is some hope in trying to locate them.
Thank you Franci, I get this question too often. Usually from adult children of older parents trying to find a policy and sometimes if a life insurance policy was ever purchased. It is a real mess to deal with.
good info, tim.
Thank you for the kind words Colin.
I wish to find out if there has been a life insurance policy on me by my family. I would not give consent nor agree to it so It would be a deceptive move..hate to say that!
Michelle, the good news is, no one can purchase a life insurance policy on you without your knowledge. You must sign the application and answer the underwriter’s questions. So, this did not happen without a lot of criminal acts and co-conspirators. The bad news is this relationship with your family. I know it is easier said than done, but try to mend those fences, life is too short and love and family are all we have. I wish you the best!