The time period after a loved one passes is hard. It becomes even harder when you cannot find the loved ones records. If a loved one has died, but you aren’t able to locate their life insurance policy to claim the benefits, you can now use the free Life Insurance Policy Locator offered by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). The Life Insurance Policy Locator uses technology to connect beneficiaries, executors and legal representatives with the records of participating companies that may have the policy of the deceased.
Now available in Virginia, the Locator has helped hundreds of consumers in Virginia recover more than $4.5 million in assets using the service.
To begin your search for a policy, you will need to have on hand the individual’s full name, including the maiden name for a married individual, the Social Security number, the state of purchase, a copy of the death certificate and if possible, the name of the insurance company that issued the policy.
Next, you will need to submit a search request form to the NAIC by going to the SCC Bureau of Insurance website at https://www.scc.virginia.gov/boi/cons/index.aspx or to the NAIC site at http://locator.naic.org. All requests are encrypted and secured to maintain confidentiality. The NAIC will then take the information submitted and ask participating companies to search their records. Companies are asked to response to the requester is the requester is the designated beneficiary or is authorized to receive information.
Virginia law states that life insurance companies are required to turn over the benefits of a policy to the commonwealth’s unclaimed property office if they know that a policyholder has died, but cannot locate the beneficiaries of the policy after a certain number of years. If the NAIC’s Policy Locator cannot locate the policy that you are looking for, this route may prove successful.
To avoid lost policies, it is wise to keep all beneficiary information up-to-date, keep beneficiaries informed about policy details, and keep a current copy of the life insurance policy with wills and other estate documents in a safe place.
If you are having trouble finding a lost life insurance policy or looking to create or revise your estate plan and any estate documents, please feel free to contact the estate law attorneys at Winslow & McCurry, PLLC at (804) 423-1382.
