Tracking Down Missing Life Insurance
Did you know that according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), millions of dollars in life insurance benefits go unclaimed every year? These unclaimed benefits may be from a policy of a deceased relative or even a policy that a family member or parent purchased for you. Changes in the insurance industry, such as company mergers or policy transfers, often lead to confusion and make it easy to lose track of a policy. However, there are ways to locate these policies if you know where to look.
Here are some steps you can take:
- Gather Information: Collect all the details you can find on the original policy and its owner.
- Contact the Issuing Company: Reach out to the company that issued the original policy. They may be able to tell you which company now hosts this policy.
- Check Unclaimed Property Resources: Explore your state’s Unclaimed Property Department’s website or the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators’ “Missing Money” website.
- Consult State Insurance Departments: Contact the Department of Insurance of the state in which the policy was originally issued. With the policy and policy holder’s information, they can access records to track down the policy.
- Utilize NAIC Resources: Submit a request with the NAIC Life Insurance Policy Locator.
If you have old policies or think you’ve lost track of one, let us help you track it down. This is another reason we are focusing on insurance protection this year. Not only do we want to be sure we have the right protections, we want to keep track of them too!
Any opinions are those of Landon Vick and not necessarily those of RJFS or Raymond James. The foregoing information has been obtained from sources considered to be reliable, but we do not guarantee that it is accurate or complete; it is not a statement of all available data necessary for making an investment decision and it does not constitute a recommendation.