Did My Mom Have Life Insurance? How To Check

If you want to check if your mom had life insurance, there are several steps you can take. Firstly, speak with family and close friends who may have information about a policy, such as where it's stored or who the beneficiaries are. You can also try sorting through your mom's paperwork, including filing cabinets, safe deposit boxes, old tax returns, and bank statements. If you know the name of the insurance company, you can contact them directly and they will tell you if you were named as a beneficiary. There are also free online tools provided by organizations such as the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) and the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA) that can help you locate a policy. These tools require certain personal information, such as the deceased's name, Social Security number, and veteran status. By following these steps, you can effectively determine whether your mom had life insurance and, if so, how to proceed with making a claim.

Check with your mom's financial advisor

If you are unsure whether your mom had life insurance, one of the best steps to take is to check with her financial advisor. Financial advisors often have a detailed overview of their clients' financial plans, and life insurance is usually a part of any serious financial plan.

If your mom had a financial advisor, they may be able to provide you with the information you need, such as whether your mom had life insurance, the name of the insurance company, and the details of the policy. This can be especially helpful if you are unsure where to start looking or if you don't have access to your mom's personal documents.

To start, try to find out who your mom's financial advisor was. You can do this by looking through her contacts, emails, or other records. If you can locate the financial advisor, give them a call or send them an email explaining your situation and requesting information about any life insurance policies they may have helped your mom set up.

It is important to note that financial advisors are bound by privacy laws and may only share information with certain individuals, such as the next of kin, estate executors, or named beneficiaries. Make sure to provide any necessary information to confirm your identity and your relationship to your mom.

If your mom's financial advisor is unable to help or your mom did not have one, there are other steps you can take to find out about a possible life insurance policy. You can try contacting your mom's accountant, attorney, or other financial professionals. They may have information about any life insurance policies or be able to guide you in the right direction.

Additionally, you can try using online tools such as the National Association of Insurance Commissioners' (NAIC) Life Insurance Policy Locator. This free service allows you to search for life insurance policies or annuity contracts purchased in the United States. You will need to provide the deceased's personal information, including their Social Security number, veteran status, and relationship to you. If a policy is found and you are the beneficiary, the insurance company will contact you directly.

Remember to start your search as soon as possible, as life insurance companies may continue to charge premiums until a claim is filed, and these unpaid premiums may be deducted from the policy's benefits. By taking a proactive approach and following these steps, you can increase your chances of finding out if your mom had life insurance and taking the necessary steps to file a claim.

Search with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC)

If you suspect that your mother had a life insurance policy, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) has created a Life Insurance Policy Locator service to help consumers locate benefits from life insurance policies or annuity contracts purchased in the United States. This service is free of charge and available to anyone.

To use the NAIC Life Insurance Policy Locator, 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 process.
• Enter your name and address.
• Submit a search request by entering your mother's information from her death certificate, including her Social Security number, veteran status, and your relationship to her.
• Click the submit button.

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

Contact previous employers

If you're trying to find out whether your mom had life insurance, one of the steps you can take is to contact her previous employers. This is because she may have been a certificate holder of an employer-provided group life policy.

Even if your mom's insurer says they have no record of life insurance coverage for her, it's important to check with her previous employers, as it is common for the employer, rather than the insurer, to maintain the life insurance records related to individual employees.

If you are an immediate family member, you can also request a search for unclaimed benefits on life insurance policies/certificates and annuity contracts/certificates insuring the life of your mother, or owned by her, through the Lost Policy Finder. This is a free-of-charge service provided by the Department of Financial Services.

Try the state insurance department

If you are unsure whether your mother had life insurance, one option is to try the state insurance department. Unclaimed life insurance eventually gets 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.

The NAIC has a free online search database that you can use to help find an unclaimed life insurance policy. You will need to submit the deceased's death certificate, social security number, full name, date of birth, and date of death. NAIC will then reach out to participating companies on your behalf to see if an unclaimed policy exists. If one of the participating companies holds the policy, they'll contact you if you're listed as a beneficiary or are authorized to access the policy.

The NAIC's Life Insurance Policy Locator is easy to use. First, go to their website, naic.org, hover over 'Consumer', and click 'Life Insurance Policy Locator' under 'Tools'. Agree to the terms of use, and enter your name, mailing address, and email address. Then, submit a search request by entering the deceased's information from their death certificate, including their social security number, veteran status, and your relationship to the deceased. After submitting, you will receive a confirmation email. If a policy is found and you are the beneficiary, the life insurance or annuity company will contact you directly. If no policy is found or you are not the beneficiary, you will not be contacted.

It is important to note that the NAIC has no policy or beneficiary information. This means that if the insurance company your mother had a policy with is not a participating company, the NAIC will not be able to provide you with any information.

Additionally, before submitting a search request, it is recommended that you conduct your own search using the provided tools on the NAIC website. You can also try other methods to find out if your mother had life insurance, such as checking her physical and digital documents, speaking with family and close friends, and contacting her advisors.

Check your mom's paperwork

Checking your mom's paperwork is a crucial step in determining whether she had life insurance and can provide valuable information about the policy's details. Here's a comprehensive guide to help you through this process:

Begin by gathering all of your mom's important documents, including physical and digital files, papers, and any other places she may have used to store such documents. This could include safes, drawers, filing cabinets, or digital storage on her computer and mobile phone. It's important to be thorough in your search, as these documents can contain crucial information about her financial affairs.

As you go through her paperwork, look for specific indicators that could suggest the existence of a life insurance policy. This includes searching for documents with the words "life insurance" or "insurance policy" on them. Additionally, keep an eye out for receipts, premium payment records, or bank statements that might indicate regular payments to an insurance company. These could be potential signs of a life insurance policy.

Another important document to look for is a will or any other legal document that outlines your mom's final wishes. A will often contains information about life insurance policies, including the insurance company's name, policy number, and other relevant details. If your mom had a safe deposit box, it's worth checking there as well, as important documents are often kept in such locations.

While going through her paperwork, take note of any insurance companies that are mentioned. This could include correspondence, brochures, or other marketing materials from insurance providers. Even if you don't find explicit evidence of a life insurance policy, knowing which insurance companies your mom had dealings with can be helpful in your search.

Finally, don't forget to review your mom's financial records comprehensively. This includes bank statements, credit card statements, cancelled cheques, and other payment records. Look for recurring payments or large transfers that could be indicative of life insurance premiums. Additionally, keep an eye out for any funds transferred from a life insurance company into her account, as this could suggest a payout from a policy.

Remember, the goal is to find any information that could lead you to the existence of a life insurance policy, the insurance provider, and the policy's details. By meticulously going through your mom's paperwork, you can significantly increase your chances of finding the information you need.

Frequently asked questions