How to find a lost life insurance policy
See how you can find lost life insurance policies
Key points:
- From losing files during a move to not knowing where to look after someone's died, there are lots of reasons you might have 'lost' a life insurance policy.
- Finding a lost policy usually involves searching documents, contacting insurers, reviewing statements, and checking with employers or professionals.
- If you're looking for a life insurance policy that belongs to someone else, you need to have express permission or legal reasoning to look for it. This could be Power of Attorney, being the executor of their estate, or a personal representative.
- Policies may go unclaimed for a range of reasons, lost documents, lack of awareness, incomplete contract details, or no one making a claim.
Losing a life insurance policy can be stressful. Fortunately, they don't have to stay lost forever. Whether the policy is yours or if you're looking for someone else's policy, there are some ways you can track them down, even if you're not sure if someone has life insurance. However, if you're not the policyholder, you need to have express permission or legal reasoning to look for their life insurance. This could be Power of Attorney, being the executor of their estate, or a personal representative.
Here's a simple guide to help you find a lost or unclaimed life insurance policy.
How do I find out if someone has life insurance?
If you think someone had a life insurance policy but you can't find it, there are several steps you can take. However, the person the life insurance policy belongs to must be deceased or have given you express permission to find it, through a Power of Attorney for example.
Check personal documents
Start by looking through the person’s financial records, bank statements, and important documents.
Life insurance policies might be filed with other important papers. Look in places where they kept their financial records, such as a home office, safe, or digital files on their computer.
Review bank statements and look for payments to life insurance companies. Regular payments to an insurer might mean there's a policy in place.
Contact employers
If the person was employed, check with their current or past employers.
Many companies offer life insurance as part of their employee benefits package. Contact the human resources department to see if they had a policy.
Ask financial advisers
Contact the person’s financial advisers, accountants, or lawyers. They might have information about any life insurance policies. These professionals often keep records of their clients’ insurance details.
Check with banks and insurers
If they held accounts or other policies, check with their banks and insurance companies. They might have records of a life insurance policy.
If you know which company issued the policy, you can contact them directly. For example, Aviva will help to reunite their customers with their policies.
How do I find a lost life insurance policy?
If you think you've lost your life insurance policy, tracking it down is similar to how you can find out if someone else has life insurance. Here's what you can do:
- Search personal records
- Contact insurance companies
- Review bank statements
- Check with employers
- Consult professionals.
Transcript Show more Show less
[Policy expert sat at desk]
Expert: Finding a lost life insurance policy in the event of someone passing can be really stressful. Here's some tips on where to start.
[Camera pans to top-down view of table with three post-it notes]
[First post-it note reads 'Personal Documents']
Expert: Check personal documents. Look at the person's bank statements and keep an eye out for regular payments to an insurer.
[Second post-it note reads 'Employers']
Expert: Ask their employer. Some workplaces offer life insurance as a benefit. If they were still working when they died it's worth checking with their employer.
[Third post-it note reads 'Other providers']
Expert: Contact their other providers. If you have legal authority as an executor and you know who their home or car insurance was with, they may have records of other policies.
Expert: Click the link for more information on how Aviva can help minimise the hassle of *finding lost policies*. Link: https://www.aviva.co.uk/insurance/life-products/life-insurance/knowledge-centre/how-to-find-lost-life-insurance/
Why do life insurance policies go unclaimed?
Life insurance policies sometimes go unclaimed for several reasons:
- Lack of awareness. Beneficiaries might not know that the policy exists, as the policyholder might not have told them or the policy was forgotten over time.
- Lost documents. Policy documents might be misplaced or lost over time. Important documents can also get lost during moves or changes in life circumstances.
- Incomplete information. The insurer might not have up-to-date contact details for the beneficiaries, so can't contact them.
- No claim filed. Life insurance beneficiaries may not know how to file a claim or that they need to do so.
Life insurance
Our Life Insurance Plan pays out a lump sum of money if you die during the policy term. The people you love could use this to keep up their standard of living when you’re gone.
What happens to unclaimed life insurance money?
At first, unclaimed life insurance money is held by the insurance company. They’ll use any contact details they have to try to find the beneficiaries and pay out the claim.
If the money goes unclaimed for a long period of time - usually somewhere between one and five years - it may be transferred to the government. In the UK, unclaimed assets can go to the Dormant Assets Scheme, which uses the funds for social and charitable causes. This scheme makes sure that the money is put to good use even if the beneficiaries can't be found.
Thankfully, even if the funds are transferred to the government, beneficiaries can still claim the money by providing proof of entitlement. So, if you discover a policy later, you can still file a claim to receive the benefits, although it might take some time to process your claim.
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