It’s easy to forget where you left your phone or keys. But what about a life insurance policy?

Locating life insurance can be a pain, whether you’re helping a relative track down an old policy or are searching for one yourself. But the last thing you want to do is leave unclaimed money on the table, especially if it will benefit the people you love.

Here’s how to go about finding unclaimed life insurance.

What is an unclaimed life insurance policy?

Most people buy life insurance to protect their loved ones and leave them financially secure in case they die unexpectedly. When you buy a policy, your insurance company will ask you to name a beneficiary or beneficiaries who will receive a lump sum cash payout after you pass away.

Life insurance death benefits can go unclaimed when the person who bought a policy dies and the beneficiary doesn’t contact the insurance company for the payout. Most insurance companies won’t know that a policy owner has died until someone submits a claim, which can get complicated if beneficiaries can’t locate important insurance information.

Because many people buy policies that last for decades or a lifetime, it’s not unusual for information to go missing. In fact, hundreds of millions of dollars in lost life insurance payouts are reclaimed every year.

An easy way to avoid a search for your policy is making sure that all insurance information is kept in a safe place and informing your beneficiaries about the policy ahead of time.

But if you’re struggling to relocate your own policy or need help finding someone else’s, there are plenty of places to look.

How to start a life insurance policy search

Time, big moves, and lost paperwork can all leave you in the dark when it comes to finding old life insurance policies, especially if it’s not yours.

Here are a few ways to kick off your search:

• Look through personal documents. Start with the obvious: desks, filing cabinets, computers, and home safes. Is there a bank safe deposit box that you know of? If you have access to it, check to see if it contains any important papers you may have missed.
• Watch for mail. Whether you’re searching for yourself or someone else, you’ll often find a clue in mail or email accounts. If a policy exists, payments have to be made, so look out for invoices, statements, and reminders to help your search.
• Contact a lawyer or accountant. Legal and financial professionals are there to help you manage and keep track of important documents and contracts, which can include life insurance policies. If you know of any legal or financial professional your relative has worked with, check to see if they can fill in some gaps. Evidence of a policy should show up in credit card statements, bank records, or tax returns, if they have permanent insurance.
• Try an employer or provider. If you or your relative were insured through a group or employer-provided policy, contacting them is a good place to start. Otherwise, you’ll need to get in touch with the insurer directly. This can be tricky if you don’t have much information, but even a company name can help you locate a policy as long as you have identifying information on hand.

Using the NAIC policy locator

In 2016, The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) launched a free tool to help customers locate life insurance policies of deceased relatives. To submit a request with their life insurance policy locator, you’ll need to set up a requestor account and fill out an online form with the following information:

• Social Security number
• Legal first name
• Legal last name
• Date of birth
• Date of death

Once the request is received, the NAIC will ask participating providers to look through their records for a matching policy under your relative’s name and reach out to you directly.

Keep in mind that if your relative is still alive or you’re searching for yourself, this method won’t be ideal.

As an alternative, request your policy record from the Medical Information Bureau (MIB) Group, which holds records of all policy applications from 1996 to the present day. If you’ve applied for insurance within the past seven years with a MIB-member provider, they should be able to produce your record.

You can also check for a relative’s policy record if you’re legally authorized to do so, or simply help them make the request for themselves.

Still can’t find that policy?

We want to help! Get in touch with us to speak with an agent about your situation today.

At Fidelity Life, our goal is to make life insurance simple, affordable, and understandable for everyday families. This content is intended for educational purposes only. Each post is carefully fact-checked, reviewed, and updated regularly to ensure the information is as relevant as possible.