Is there some central list of all life insurance policies?
Is there some central list of all life insurance policies?
Is there a central list of all life insurance policies? For example, if a relative has passed and the survivors need to find out if that person had a policy but don't know which company might hold the policy, how would a search be done?
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6 Responses
1.31.2010
Best Answer – Chosen by Voters The MIB is the closest thing to a central list. Most life insurance companies will report applications to the MIB. However, an application doesn't mean that a policy was issued or that it was valid at death. It cost $75 for the search; here is their website: http://www.mib.com/ Source(s): Independent Agent
1.31.2010
Search the web, there are several articles.There *is* a company that will search a database of life insurance applications (not policies) done in the past 20 years. It used to cost $75 and is unlikely to find anything you can't find with other means,So, you get the last year's bank statements and LOOK for a premium payment. Ditto, all credit card statements. You also watch the incoming mail for 1 year. That covers term insurance.Call their employer if they were still working. That covers any insurance through work.What's left are whole life policies. When a relative died, I went through every single sheet of paper in there house and actually found a letter for one policy from 40 years before that said, congratulations, the policy is full paid and you'll never have to make another premium payment. Of all their insurance policies, this one they'd overlooked and other than the sheet of paper, I saw nothing else indicating it existed. It was for $6000 which would have been about enough to pay for their funeral.If you suspect that there is such a policy–not just wishful thinking–then the executor can write the top 20 insurance companies and provide, name, addresses, date of birth, SSN of the deceased and ASK if there was a policy. After that it's pointless.
1.31.2010
No, there is none. No government agency collects active life insurance policy information. And as most policies cancel within five years, and 70% of Americans die without active life insurance in place, no surprise.Life insurance tends to run in families. Do you have life insurance? Your sibs? Your parents? Most people TELL family members, if there is life insurance. If none of the surviving family members have any life insurance, odds are, the deceased doesn't, either. That's your PERSONAL reminder. Go buy life insurance, and tell at least two different family members that you have it, and where you keep your valuable papers.There are ways to search. You should go through their valuable papers at home, of course, and go through the banking records. If they had insurance, they'd be paying for it, at least once a year, but usually once a month. You should see a cancelled check. If you're executor/administrator of the estate, you can get copies of all their cancelled checks for the past year, from their bank, and go through them. Be sure to check the safety deposit box at their bank, too.If they were employed at the time of death, call the HR department at their employer's, to see if there was any group life insurance.If you suspect they had a prepaid policy, just change the mailing address to yours – if they DID have a paid up policy, once a year they'd be receiving a statement from the insurance company. Again, if you're executor of the estate, you can pay $75 to http://www.mib.com/html/lost-life-insura… and they will tell you if any applications have been received on their lives, in the past 13 years. It only goes back 13 years, and you'll need to send them proof that you are administrator or executor of the estate.Don't be worried about someone else "intercepting" your life insurance money. If you are the beneficiary of the policy, the insurance money gets mailed directly to you. If you're not administrator or executor of the estate, AND a check doesn't show up to your mail one day, then legally you don't have access to the information – it's protected by the privacy laws. But you can always ASK the administrator/executor if there is life insurance, and who the beneficiary is.
1.31.2010
No such list. If a policy exists, records of it should be in the deceased's personal property.
1.31.2010
Looking through their files and bank statements is your best bet.
1.31.2010
no