Understanding Insurance Terminology

Understanding Insurance Terminology

Think There Are Unclaimed Life Insurance Benefits Out There? Know What to Do

by Vilma Maki

The purpose of life insurance is to give the beneficiaries financial help in the event that the person who holds the policy passes away. If you're the beneficiary of someone's life insurance policy, it's possible that you were never notified of your pay out and it was forgotten about. One out of 600 people never receive their benefits, so it's possible that you were listed as the beneficiary of a policy and was never notified about how to receive it. Here is what you need to know about finding out if you are owed benefits. 

Look at Personal Records

If you are unable to locate the life insurance policy, yet have authority to do so, you should search the personal records of the policy holder. There could be a record in a safe deposit box, a filing cabinet, or even checks made to pay for the premium that could help lead you to the policy. The executor of an estate can do these things, but if not, it would require court approval.

Other places to check are credit card bills, since they can have line items that indicate premiums have been paid to the insurance providers. An address book may contain contact info about a financial advisor they were working with that could have more information as well.

Employers sometimes provide limited life insurance benefits to their employees, and there may be benefits that the deceased didn't even know that they had. Check with their employer about what type of benefits they were receiving through them.

Search for Unclaimed Property

Many states have a database of unclaimed property, which are for things like life insurance benefits that were never paid out. If the insurance provider was unable to locate the beneficiaries of a policy, they will notify the state that the policy was purchased in. Your money could be ready to claim, and all you need to do is file the appropriate paperwork to get it.

Contact the Life Insurance Provider

If you are able it identify the insurance provider that the deceased had a policy with, the next step will be to contact the company. You must be the actual beneficiary for them to discuss it with you, and they will need you to prove your identity to receive the benefits that you are owed. The miscommunication could be from something as simple as having the wrong contact information. 

For more tips, talk to a life insurance agent like those at D A Insurance Brokers.


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About Me

Understanding Insurance Terminology

After we purchased our first home, we realized that it might be a good idea to evaluate our insurance coverage. Although we had purchased homeowners insurance before, we had never owned a policy as large as the one we would need for our new place. Also, our new home had a trampoline and a swimming pool, which made us worried about liability. To iron out the details, I decided to meet with our insurance agent. We talked about things like monthly premiums, coverage limits, and deductibles, and it was incredible to learn more about the terminology. This blog is designed to help you with the same types of questions.

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