Upon the death of a loved one, navigating the complex aspects of their estate can be challenging. Grief can take a heavy emotional toll, and understanding how to move forward with an estate during this time can be especially hard. On top of that, many actions must be initiated by the beneficiaries or the executor of the estate. Waiting for benefits to begin is rarely a good strategy.
Contacting An Insurance Company After The Death
One of the most significant components of many estates, especially those who leave behind a young family, is the life insurance policy. The question of what actions need to be taken after a death frequently arises after the passing of a policyholder. The bottom line is that life insurance companies do not monitor policyholders, which means that the executor or beneficiaries must initiate a claim. The insurance company will not seek out the beneficiaries of a decedent; they will be unaware of the death until a claim is initiated.
Once the life insurance company is informed of the death, they will use their information on file to locate the named beneficiaries. Hopefully, this information has been updated recently. If not, the company may encounter problems when trying to locate beneficiaries. People move frequently, and many even undergo name changes as time passes. These changes to personal circumstances can make it harder to track down all of the stated beneficiaries.
When naming beneficiaries, it’s essential to include as much personally-identifying information as possible, including the full name, any former names, the date of birth, and the social security number. Including this information can make it easier for the insurance company to find all beneficiaries and ensure that they receive the proper benefits.
What Do I Need To Initiate A Claim
Ideally, the life insurance policy documents provided to the decedent should be available to initiate the claim. These documents will include the legal contract as well as the policy number and all beneficiary information. However, life insurance paperwork is often misplaced or lost throughout the years. It’s not uncommon for someone to purchase a policy, file the paperwork away somewhere, and forget about it. Or maybe it was accidentally tossed or lost during a move. If the death is unexpected, nobody may even know where the original documents are located if the decedent still has possession of them. In some instances, family members or other beneficiaries may be unaware a policy is in place.
If you know the company that holds the policy, you can contact them once the decedent has passed and request the policy documents. However, it’s important to know that life insurance companies are often acquired and sold, similar to other financial companies. Contracts that have been in place for decades can become lost by the company, too. Or, if the company’s name changed, you might not know the right company to contact to initiate a claim on the policy. And without policy documents, you cannot initiate a claim.
If you do not have policy documents or do not know if the policy still exists, you can check online with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ Life Insurance Policy Locator Service. This online tool can search the known life insurance policies database from participating companies, but it also has limitations. Not every inquiry will result in a response since the life insurance companies will only respond if they have reason to believe:
that there is a policy in the name of the deceased
that you are entitled to death benefits as a designated beneficiary; and,
that you are authorized to receive policy information.
Since you cannot initiate a claim without policy documents, it’s incredibly important to have a copy of these available. Suppose you believe yourself to be a beneficiary. In that case, you can request a copy of the paperwork, or at the very least, try to get information about the name of the life insurance company and the policy number. In addition to the policy documents, a claim will require a death certificate.
As you can see, retaining a copy of a life insurance policy is crucial. Without those documents, you may not be able to locate the policy information or file a claim. This scenario means that the decedent paid the premium for a policy for nothing – since the intended beneficiaries will not receive the benefits. Many life insurance policies are left unclaimed for this exact reason. To learn more about estate planning to ensure your beneficiaries have everything they need to benefit from your life insurance policy, contact the Law Office of Janet L. Brewer today.
