How to Find a Life Insurance Policy Exists (Online Search)

Given these often-unexpected responsibilities, it is understandable that family members may have challenges in determining how to find a life insurance policy exists.

This article, How to Find a Life Insurance Policy Exists (Online Search), provides actionable information concerning how to find a decedent’s life insurance policy and other life insurance basics.

The days, weeks, and months after the death of a loved one can be an extremely challenging and emotional time on a variety of levels. In addition to the understandable grief experienced, there are also a seemingly overwhelming number of decisions and responsibilities for the person designated to settle the decedent’s person’s affairs.

As a part of settling the estate, it is important to determine whether there were any active life insurance policies inforce. This may sound simple but can be quite difficult if no one is aware of the policy and/or there are no obvious policy documents. Adding to this challenge is the fact that there is no comprehensive database of inforce life insurance contracts. The following tips are intended to be helpful pointers in how to find a life insurance policy exists.

As a disclaimer, the information presented is intended for individual(s) designated as executors, administrators, beneficiaries, or others legally authorized to policy information.

In addition to physical storage locations, you should check digital storage files, such as computer hard drives and cloud-based storage accounts. It can also be a good idea to check both the decedent’s regular mail and email for a year or so after their passing since insurance companies often provide annual policy statements and/or tax documents if applicable.

If you identify payment or deposit activity from a life insurance company, this may indicate the existence of an active life insurance or annuity policy.

Additionally, it may be beneficial to reach out directly to financial institutions where your loved one did business to inquire about life insurance coverage associated with their account. In many instances, institutions offer complimentary or low-cost coverage to savings, checking, or credit card account holders. The Bank Branch Locator is a free resource that can be helpful in locating national and regional banks.

With that said, the process of planning for an individual’s financial security rarely happens in a vacuum. In other words, there are often a number of financial, legal, and other professionals involved or at least consulted. Current or previous accountants, attorneys, financial planners, or other service providers may be able to assist in determining how to find a life insurance policy exists.

In order to identify and locate these professionals, please refer to Tip #1 related to searching personal effects for evidence of service providers. Also, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) BrokerCheck may be used to research financial brokers and advisors, while the American Bar Association’s (ABA) Lawyer Licensing site is a great resource for locating licensed attorneys.

In many instances, employees may have purchased supplemental coverage or signed up for survivor benefit plans such as those available to military retirees. For this reason, it is important to contact the decedent’s current or previous employers, unions, professional associations, membership organizations, or other groups with which they may have been involved. Also, if the decedent was married, it is a good idea to reach out to the spouse’s current or former employer to inquire as to whether spousal coverage was inforce.

To aid in your search, The Department of Labor’s Professional Association Finder is a great resource for locating professional associations, while the Internal Revenue Services’ Tax Exempt Organization Search can be helpful in identifying non-profit membership organizations.

When a policy locator request is initiated, the NAIC will forward your inquiry to participating life insurance companies nationwide, who will, in turn, search policy records for an active contract in the name of the decedent. This process can take up to 90 business days, and you will only receive a response if a participating insurance company locates a policy.

Though participation in this service is voluntary for insurance companies, many insurers are more than willing to assist possible beneficiaries in their search.

According to the MIB website, “executors or administrators of a decedent's estate are permitted to order a report of life insurance application activity. If no executor or administrator has been appointed, then a surviving spouse or the decedent's closest surviving relative may request an MIB Policy Locator Service report.”

It is important for consumers to note that the majority of MEB Policy Locator Service searches produce no actionable results.

This state-wide search attempts to connect unclaimed property with its rightful owner.  If an insured individual passes away and the insurance company is unable to locate policy beneficiary(s), the death benefit is ultimately transferred to the state as unclaimed property. A quick search using the NAUPA endorsed website MissingMoney.com may help in identifying an otherwise lost life insurance policy.

As a side note, a search for unclaimed property is not only useful in how to find a life insurance policy exists but also for any other unclaimed property.

In doing research for this article, I actually found unclaimed property in three states worth a few hundred dollars for myself and two other family members. So, I highly recommend a quick search. Best of luck!