How Do I Find Out If A Life Insurance Policy Is Still Active?
If you have a relative or friend who passed away, you may be looking for a way to find out if a life insurance policy exists.
It would be great if there was a national database where you could enter your name and instantly learn what you could find out in minutes, but finding insurance information currently isn’t available online.
You have to do some digging for the desired information.
It is not a requirement that you inform your beneficiaries of leaving a bequest in your name.
Steps to find out if someone has life insurance
The first thing you should do is find out if a life insurance policy exists. It is possible to do a bit of research to find this out.
- Obtain the death certificate
- Talk to family and friends
- Search personal belongings
- Check mail/email
- Online search
- Review the death certificate
- Talk to bankers, financial advisors, or insurers
Obtain The Death Certificate
You should have a death certificate, possibly also the social security number of the deceased, before locations like the Social Security Administration can help you with a search.
You may be a beneficiary, in which case you will need to provide a death certificate to the insurance company to prove that the policyholder has died.
When dealing with a death in your family or the heirs of an estate, you may be able to obtain a death certificate from a close relative or the executor of the estate.
Otherwise, contact your county or state vital records office where the death occurred. Dependent upon where you reside, the process varies.
Talk To Family And Friends
Another way to approach the matter is to seek advice from those who knew the deceased well. A spouse, children, or possibly friends could’ve heard your relative speak about their life insurance coverage and how they wanted it to assist someone.
You may be unable to harvest as much information as possible with a social security number search if you already know precisely which policies to research.
It is a good idea to speak with one of the deceased’s executors on the list to find out if the policy you’re looking for exists or not.
Search Personal Belongings
If the deceased is a very close friend, it should be easier to locate and search through personal belongings at their desk. Other personal possessions might be hard to locate if they are not a close family member.
Let’s say, as an example that you believe that your friend named you in his life insurance contract. You may want to speak with his spouse to obtain extra information and acquire permission to look into the contract.
At the very least, this needs compassion, because she’ll be mourning the loss of her husband. You must also make sure to reassure her that you care about his preferences and never favor yourself when doing so.
Check Mail And Email
Again, this is typically easier with a family member, with the help of access to their computer and home. What you’re looking for are billing statements, account summaries, and other communications from an insurance company that holds the policy.
If it’s a term policy, the payments that the deceased was making should have been shown on the last annual statement; otherwise, the cash value of the policy may have been used.
If it’s permanent insurance, it may not have been apparent where it went, but there should be yearly statements.
Online Search
As we were unable to locate that information online, we’re going to recommend the National Association of Insurance Commissioners insurance policy locator as your first stop.
The NAIC will initiate a search of insurers until it finds any active policies that cover you and your deceased relative.
Talk To Bankers, Financial Advisors, Or Insurers
Banking regulations may restrict what a banking official can tell you about the dead s finances, but you might be able to find some information from them yourself.
It may pay to talk to the deceased s financial advisor or accountant, or even their insurance agent.
If you or someone you love is acting as a trustee or executor, you will have access to safe deposit boxes or other private storage areas, which may contain important information.
If you are not able to access them, ask those close to the recently deceased those who might be able to.
Touch Base With Employers, Fraternal Organizations, And Other Groups
It usually benefits bosses to offer life insurance policies to their workers as an incentive. If the staff member was perhaps still working, check with their prior employers.
Some organizations provide group life insurance, too. Labor unions, professional organizations, and other associations may offer this as a benefit of membership.
If you know of any organizations the deceased belonged to, contact them and inquire if they have a policy through them.
How Can I Check My Prudential Policy Status?
To check the status of a claim, call Prudential’s Customer Service Center Mon. -Fri., 8 a.m.-8 p.m. ET at 1-800-496-1035.
How Do I Pay My Prudential Bill Online?
Automatic Premium Payments is an easy and fast way to pay your monthly insurance premiums. You just need to enroll once in the Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) program, and Prudential automatically withdraws premiums from your checking or savings account each month.
Automatic Payments are only effective when monthly payments are made toward an outstanding policy loan.
Option 1:
If you are also the policy owner, enrolling online allows you to do the same.
Simply Log in to https://www.prudential.com/login/?utm_medium=friendly&utm_source=redirect&utm_campaign=legacy_login to Prudential opens a new window to access your account online and then click the “Automatic Payments” option below your policy number.
Option 2:
- Download the enrollment form below by clicking http://www.prudential.com/media/managed/prudential-eft-form.pdf
- Complete the Request for Electronic Funds Transfer Enrollment Form and enclose your blank, voided check for the checking account you wish us to withdraw your payments from.
Note: We cannot obtain acceptable banking information from deposit slips.
- Make a copy for your records.
- Return the completed signed form and the voided check to the address provided below.
PRUDENTIAL
EFT
PO BOX 7398
PHILADELPHIA, PA 19176
This presentation file is in Adobe Acrobat format and requires Adobe Acrobat Reader 3.0 or later for viewing. Obtain the plug-in opens https://get.adobe.com/reader/ in a new window and instructions for installation free of charge
How Do I Claim Beneficiary Money?
To claim life insurance benefits, the beneficiary should contact the insurance company’s local agent or look on its website.
Some firms ask recipients to begin by filling out a paper form that reports the death; then, the company sends the beneficiaries a mail-in package of forms and guidelines that explain how to proceed.
Generally, a company will provide you with the proceeds of your insurance claim by completing the necessary documents and submitting them to the insurer along with a certified copy of your death certificate.
If more than one adult beneficiary was chosen, each must submit a claim. If the primary beneficiary died before the beneficiary did, then the alternate (contingent) beneficiary can claim the proceeds.
An alternate will need to submit the death certificate of the primary beneficiary as well as the death certificate of the policyholder. Read more articles on wink24news.