Battling For My Mother's Life Insurance: A Fight For Justice

If you believe that you are the beneficiary of your deceased mother's life insurance policy, there are several steps you can take to locate the policy and claim the benefits. Firstly, search through your mother's files, including safe deposit boxes, filing cabinets, mail, bank statements, and other relevant paperwork. Contact professionals who provided her with financial or legal services, such as her banker, financial advisor, or attorney. You can also reach out to her employer, as some companies offer supplemental life insurance as part of their benefits package. If these methods are unsuccessful, you can use the National Association of Insurance Commissioners' (NAIC) online Life Insurance Policy Locator Service, which searches the records of participating life insurance companies. Additionally, you can try conducting a free search with the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA) or contact your state's Unclaimed Property Office, as unclaimed life insurance benefits are often turned over to the state.

Search your mother's documents and correspondences

Searching through your mother's documents and correspondences is a crucial step in tracking down her life insurance policy. Here are some detailed instructions to guide you through this process:

Start by gathering all your mother's paperwork, including both paper and digital documents. This includes going through her filing cabinets, drawers, and any storage spaces she used. Look for insurance-related documents, such as policy agreements, premium notices, dividend notices, or any other relevant correspondence. Remember that life insurance policies are often purchased when people start a family, so you might find relevant information in documents from your mother's younger years.

Next, review your mother's financial records, including bank statements and tax returns. Check for any payments made to insurance companies, which could indicate the existence of a policy. Life insurance companies may also pay interest on permanent policies, so look for any records of interest income or expenses paid to insurance companies. Additionally, keep an eye out for cancelled checks or automatic drafts to insurance providers.

If your mother had a safe deposit box, be sure to search through its contents as well. Safe deposit boxes often contain important documents and can be a good place to find insurance-related information. However, keep in mind that safe deposit boxes may be temporarily sealed after an individual passes away, which can delay your access to their contents.

While searching through your mother's documents, keep an eye out for any communication from insurance companies. Many insurers send annual statements to policyholders, and they may also send notices regarding missed premium payments. These notices could be in the form of letters or emails, so be sure to check both physical mail and your mother's email inbox.

If your mother worked with a financial adviser, banker, or attorney, be sure to contact them. They may have information about your mother's life insurance policy, especially if it was connected to a trust or business transfer. Even if they don't have direct information, they might be able to guide you in the right direction or provide advice on where else to look.

Finally, don't forget to check your mother's mail and email for a period after her passing. Life insurance companies are required to pay the beneficiary within a specific timeframe after discovering a policyholder's death. During this time, they may send important notices or updates regarding the policy.

Going through your mother's documents and correspondences is a crucial step in your search for her life insurance policy. It may be a time-consuming and emotional process, but it can provide valuable information and increase your chances of finding the policy.

Submit a request to the NAIC Life Insurance Policy Locator Service

If you are struggling to find your deceased mother's life insurance policy, you can submit a request to the NAIC Life Insurance Policy Locator Service. This is a free online tool created by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) to help consumers find their deceased loved one's life insurance policies and annuity contracts.

To submit a request, follow these steps:

• Go to naic.org in your web browser.
• Hover over "Consumer" and click "Life Insurance Policy Locator" under "Tools".
• Create an account by entering your email address and name.
• Log in and agree to the terms of use.
• Enter your name and address.
• Submit a search request by entering the deceased's information from their death certificate, including their:

• Social Security number
• Veteran status
• Relationship to you

Click the submit button.

After submitting your request, you will receive a "Do Not Reply" email confirming the details of your request. Your request will be stored in a secure, encrypted database that participating life insurance and annuity companies can access through a secure portal. If a policy is found and you are the beneficiary, the company will contact you directly. Please note that the NAIC does not have any policy or beneficiary information, so you will not be contacted if no policy is found or if you are not the beneficiary.

Contact your state's Unclaimed Property Office

If you are unable to locate your deceased mother's life insurance policy, one of the steps you can take is to contact your state's Unclaimed Property Office. This is because when a life insurance company is aware that an insured client has died but cannot find the beneficiary, they are required to turn the death benefit over to the state where the policy was purchased as "unclaimed property".

You can search the state's unclaimed property database, and the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA) has a search tool that will take you to your state's unclaimed property database. Each state has different rules on how long it takes for a policy to be considered dormant, with the timeframe typically between one and five years. If it's been that long, you can search for unclaimed funds in the state where the deceased last resided or where they bought their policy.

The National Conference of Insurance Legislators created the Unclaimed Life Insurance Benefits Act, which requires insurers to periodically check the Social Security Administration's Death Master File database to identify deceased policyholders and their beneficiaries. This has been enacted in over 30 states but does not apply to every state.

Additionally, some states have online policy finders, such as the New York Department of Financial Services, which allows the executor or administrator of an estate or a member of the deceased's immediate family to create a search request with basic information and a copy of the death certificate.

Check your mother's bank statements

Checking your mother's bank statements is a crucial step in your search for her life insurance policy. Here are some detailed instructions to help you through this process:

Locate the Bank Statements:

Firstly, you need to gather your mother's bank statements. These can be found by looking through her important documents at home. If she had a safety deposit box at the bank, you may need to produce a court order or a death certificate to access the box. Alternatively, the executor of her estate should be able to help you access this.

Review the Bank Statements:

Once you have the bank statements, review them thoroughly. Look for any payments, withdrawals, or automatic drafts made to insurance companies. These transactions will give you a clear indication of whether your mother was paying for a life insurance policy. Remember to check both her paper and digital bank statements, as some may be stored on her computer or external hard drive.

Analyse Other Financial Records:

In addition to bank statements, examine other financial records such as credit card statements. Life insurance companies often send premium notices and updates via mail, so be sure to check her physical mail as well. Also, review her email inbox for any electronic communications from insurance companies.

Contact the Bank:

If you are unable to find any relevant information in your mother's bank statements, you can reach out to her banker or the bank directly. They may have additional insights or be able to provide a more comprehensive transaction history. The banker might also know your mother's financial advisor or accountant, who could potentially have more information.

Understand the Challenges:

Keep in mind that there may be challenges along the way. For example, if the insurance company has changed its name or merged with another company, it may be harder to identify the relevant transactions. Additionally, if your mother had password-protected digital accounts, you may need a court order to access them.

Remember, checking bank statements is just one part of the process of locating your mother's life insurance policy. You may also need to speak with her friends and family, search her personal belongings, contact employers and member organisations, and utilise online search tools. Each piece of information you gather brings you one step closer to finding the policy.

Contact your mother's financial advisor

If you know the name of your mother's financial advisor, this is a good place to start. They may have already contacted the life insurance company and can help you file a claim. If your mother had an executor, they should be able to share the name of the life insurance company with you. If you are the beneficiary, you can then reach out to the company directly.

If you don't know who your mother's financial advisor is, or you are unable to get the information from them, you can try other methods. If your mother had a homeowners or auto insurance policy, you can check with that insurance company, as insurers often offer discounts for bundling insurance products.

Another option is to contact your state's insurance department. Unclaimed life insurance is eventually passed on to the state insurance department if the insurer is aware that the policyholder has passed away but the beneficiary hasn't filed a claim. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) can provide you with the insurance department contact details for the state in which your mother held a policy.

You can also try searching your mother's files and other relevant paperwork for policy documentation. Check safe deposit boxes at banks, filing cabinets and desk drawers, incoming or outgoing mail, bank statements, and business cards. If you find the name of the insurance company, you can contact them directly to find out if you are a beneficiary and, if so, file a claim.

Frequently asked questions