Beneficiaries have ways to track down unclaimed policies Forcing insurers to retroactively change the terms of the contract is a “slippery slope” that can potentially put all insurance contracts at risk. Retroactive application of these state-of-the-art search methods is for some companies time-consuming, expensive and not a process accounted for in the original life insurance policy contract. Social Security Administration’s Death Master File as well as other search technologies to determine if a person insured under an individual life insurance policy has died if they can confirm the death, the insurer will initiate a search for their beneficiaries. Fortunately, advances in technology have allowed insurers to create new processes to reduce the number of instances in which this occurs. However, there are times when an insured person dies and no one notifies the life insurer or initiates a claim. Life insurers prioritize honoring their moral and contractual obligations and have paid out $1.1 trillion to the rightful beneficiaries of individual life insurance policies over the past two decades. No life insurer can stay in business for very long if it develops a reputation for ignoring or not paying legitimate claims. Life insurers keep track of their policyholders When informing beneficiaries and/or an estate executor that a life insurance policy exists, give them the name of the company, the policy number and, ideally, tell them what they intend the life policy’s proceeds to be used for. If there are valid reasons not to inform the beneficiaries-if, for example, they are young children-it is a good idea to provide this information to the executor of your estate. Life insurance policyholders should inform their primary beneficiaries, as well as their contingent beneficiaries, about the existence of a life insurance policy that names them. Transamerica Occidental Life Insurance Co.Clear communication is important when it comes to your life insurance policy. Security Life of Denver Insurance Company Old Line Life Insurance Company of America Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York 787 Seventh Avenue, 49th Floorįarmers New World Life Insurance Co. of North AmericaĬonnecticut General Life Insurance CompanyĮquitable Life Assurance Society of the U.S.Įquitable Variable Life Insurance Co. New rules taking effect in 2012 require a more diligent effort, but estimates are $1 billion in unclaimed life insurance among the major underwriters.Įven so, missing heirs can be difficult to find, due to name changes after marriage or divorce, an unreported change of address or expired postal forwarding order after a move, and incomplete or illegible records.Įven if your insurance company no longer exists, payments of up to $300,000 are possible from state insurance guaranty associations. If you have reason to believe a life insurance policy exists but have not received payment, go to Missing Life Insurance Policy SearchĪllianz Life Insurance Co. Life Insurance Payouts Owed Heirs & Beneficiariesīecause it is the job of beneficiaries to notify the life insurance company of a policy owner’s death, more than one-quarter of all life insurance policy benefits go unclaimed, because family members simply aren’t aware a policy exists or don’t know how to find it.Ī recent government audit found most life insurance companies make little effort to trace or track down missing heirs, even when it is known the policy holder is deceased.Unclaimed Life Insurance Policy Demutualization Payments.
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