How to Collect on Lost Life Insurance Policies

A relative has just died. He had a life insurance policy with you listed as the beneficiary. There's just one problem: the life insurance policy is missing. You have no idea which insurance company wrote it.

If you find the missing life insurance policy in the future, are you still eligible to receive the death benefit?

Hope they paid their insurance bills

If you're a beneficiary and you find the lost life insurance policy shortly after the insured dies (within six months to a year, for example), claiming the death benefit should be trouble-free.

First, determine if the insured had term or permanent life insurance. If the insured held a term policy, you'll receive the death benefit if he died before the end of the policy term. If he died after the policy expiration date, you would get nothing.

If the insured had a permanent life policy, you'll receive the money if the death occurred while the policy was "in force," meaning all premium payments were made up until the time of death. If the death was a while ago, you'll receive the benefit with interest from the date of death.

If the life insurance policy lapsed — meaning the insured stopped making premium payments before he died — there's a chance you might get nothing. When a permanent life insurance policy lapses, most insurance companies switch its status from permanent insurance to one of two options:

"Extended term" — The insurance company uses the cash value of the policy to buy a term life insurance policy for the same death benefit using the cash value of the policy. The death benefit will continue for the longest period the cash value will purchase.

"Reduced paid up" — The insurance company will keep the policy in force permanently, but will reduce the death benefit.

Gerry Brogla, an actuary for State Farm, says in the majority of the cases at his company, the permanent policy continues as extended term if it lapses. At State Farm, extended term is the default option for most permanent policies.

If the policy lapses, and the extended-term period expires before the insured dies, the policy is worthless and the life insurance beneficiary will get nothing. If the insured dies before the extended-term period is up, the beneficiary will receive the death benefit. If the policy lapsed because the insured died (thus ending premium payments and causing the insurance to be placed in extended-term status), the beneficiary will still collect the full death benefit, regardless of when the extended term was up. The beneficiary always needs to supply the insurance company with a death certificate to verify the date of death.

There is no time limit during which a life insurance beneficiary must step forward to collect the money, according to Jack Dolan, spokesman for the American Council of Life Insurers. "If a person shows up 30 years after [the insured's] death, the company still makes good on it," Dolan assures.

What happens if no one ever reports the death?

If the insured dies and the insurance company does not learn of the death, the policy lapses. Insurance companies will take steps to find out why a policyholder stopped making payments.

When an insurance company stops getting payments, it sends letters to the insured informing him the policy may lapse as a result of unpaid premiums. If the letters go unanswered, the company might initiate a search to find the insured. If that comes up empty, the company will then lapse the policy.

If a beneficiary to a policy never steps forward, it unfortunately means the insured paid money to a policy throughout his life and his beneficiaries never see a penny. This is why its a good idea to make sure beneficiaries are aware of any life insurance policies you have.

If you're lucky, the state may have your money

In some cases when a beneficiary fails to claim a death benefit for several years, the money is transferred to the state where the insurance policy was purchased under the escheat laws.

If a company knows an insured died and it cannot find the beneficiary, it must turn the full death benefit over to the state comptroller's department within three to five years of the insured's death. The money is transferred to the state where the insured bought the policy. The money is considered "unclaimed property" and gets lumped in with dormant bank accounts and uncollected rent deposits. The comptroller's department maintains a database that lists the names and addresses of lost life insurance beneficiaries.

Many states will try to contact life insurance beneficiaries in an effort to pay the death benefits. In Texas, for example, the names and addresses of the beneficiaries are published annually in each county in the state. In New York, the Web site of the New York State Comptroller's Office of Unclaimed Funds has an online search to find any unclaimed death benefits owed to you. You can find out the procedures in your state by contacting the office of your state comptroller or treasurer.

Keep in mind your chances of finding the policy with the state are slim. The insurance company has no obligation to hand the money over to the state if it's unaware the insured died. In most cases, it's the beneficiary who contacts the insurance company.

Also, the insurer only transfers the money to the state three to five years after it cannot find the beneficiary but knows the insured died. If the state doesn't have the death benefit, it's likely the insurer is still looking for the beneficiary or doesn't know the policyholder has died.

Unclaimed death benefits are rarely transferred to the state. Dave Potter, a spokesman for Hartford Life, says less than 1 percent of his company's death benefits go unclaimed.

Del Chance, a life insurance claims manager at State Farm, says, "Turning over life policy benefits to an individual state after the death of an insured is extremely rare. State Farm utilizes their own search techniques as well as outside vendors to locate lost beneficiaries in the event of the death of one of our insureds. By and large these procedures have always located the beneficiary.

Tips for making sure your life insurance beneficiaries get your death benefit:

1. Give your beneficiaries your policy information. It can be a difficult and awkward conversation, but an important one.

2. Keep all your financial records (especially your life insurance policies) in one place. Don't force your beneficiaries to search your house from top to bottom after you die.

Tips for looking for lost life insurance policies:

1. Go through canceled checks or contact your relative's bank for copies of old checks. Look for checks made out to insurance companies.

2. Ask those who may have known about your relative's finances. Speak with the relative's lawyer, banker or accountant. Also contact the relative's insurance agent.

3. Contact your relative's past employers. They might know of possible group life insurance. The insured might have also purchased supplemental life insurance through work.

4. Check the mail for a year. Premium bills and policy-status notices are usually sent annually.

5. Look at income tax returns for the past two years. Check for interest income from policies or expenses paid to life insurance companies.

6. Contact the Medical Information Bureau. If your relative bought life insurance fairly recently, there might be a trail of the companies to which he applied. The Medical Information Bureau (MIB) maintains a database that might show if insurers requested your relative's medical information within the past seven years. Record searches can be requested through the MIB's Policy Locator Service and cost $75. The MIB says that nearly 30 percent of searches turn up leads.

source:http://www.articlesbase.com/insurance-articles/how-to-collect-on-lost-life-insurance-policies-357858.html

A Look at Life Insurance

Every year, billions of dollars is spent on life insurance. In today’s world, families are buying more life insurance that ever before. The demand for insurance has really made the cost for insurance to skyrocket. Since life insurance is needed by almost every family, the demand for life insurance will continue to increase.

Obviously, to some individuals, live insurance is a priority over other insurance like auto insurance, property insurance, etc. But what surprises me most is that the average insurance holder is not aware of how the insurance policy works. Probably, because insurance policies uses terms that are not familiar to the average person who needs insurance. This not withstanding, millions of people keep on buying insurance. Many are aware of the importance of life insurance. We all need life insurance because of the uncertainty of life. We can not really predict what will happen in the next moment.

The basic truth about life insurance is that it can not insure a person against death but it can protect dependents of a death person against some economic losses resulting from the death of a bread winner in a family. Life insurance will ensure that the dependents of a dead person don’t suffer much loss. The term life insurance doesn’t warrant that the insurance will cover one for a life time. Life insurance is similar to car insurance. The usual term policy can be five or ten years or more depending on the choice of an individual. If the insured person dies after the term is up, his family gets nothing

source:http://www.ezinearticles.com/?A-Look-at-Life-Insurance&id=765594

Life Insurance Rate Quote – How Yours Will Be Determined

In order to get a life insurance rate quote, you must first determine what kind of life insurance policy you want to purchase. There are two basic kinds of life insurance policies – term life insurance policies, and whole life insurance policies.

Term life insurance policies offer life insurance coverage for a “term.” This means, your life insurance coverage will last for a certain period of time. Most term life insurance policies offer coverage anywhere from five to thirty years. How long your term life insurance policy lasts is up to you. Term life insurance policies appeal to people because of the lower life insurance rate quote. Term life insurance policies are usually less expensive than whole life insurance policies, because term life insurance policies don’t offer, or require, the components that whole life insurance policies do. When you purchase a term life insurance policy, you’re purchasing pure life insurance.

In contrast to term life insurance policies, whole life insurance policies offer life insurance coverage for the rest of your life. They also provide a required savings component along with the whole life insurance policy. Some people are attracted to this savings component because it allows the whole life insurance policy to accumulate a cash value. The policyholders can use that cash value in certain times, such as times of financial stress, or times when they want to put the accumulated cash toward their policy premiums.

When you begin your search for a life insurance rate quote, take note that your life insurance rate quote will most likely reflect the type of life insurance policy you decide to purchase. You’ll usually pay less for a term life insurance policy, and get simply the life insurance coverage you want. You’ll usually pay more for a whole life insurance policy, but get extras you might need. Consider the life insurance rate quote based on the coverage, and extras, you want with your policy.

source:http://www.ezinearticles.com/?Life-Insurance-Rate-Quote---How-Yours-Will-Be-Determined&id=284279

How to Quickly Find the Best Term Life Insurance Quote?

The concept of term life insurance is very easy to understand. Term life insurance remains effective for a limited, predetermined time span. A term life insurance holder pays regular premium during the term of his life insurance policy. If the insurance holder dies during the term, death benefits directly go to the beneficiary.

Most of the life insurance policies offer variety of options but term life insurance offer only limited flexibility. Additionally, term life insurance does not make any cash value or any residual. After the expiry of term life insurance policy, there is no use of it, you just need to renew it or purchase a new one.

It is also true that options are more readily available with other insurance solutions. Despite simplicity and limitations, term life insurance is still sensible among many customers.

Those who need temporary life insurance protection should prefer term life insurance policy. Some times it happens that an individual is not covered by any life insurance policy due to some reasons, under such circumstances, a term life insurance can fill the gap, protecting the financial interests of their family. If you also need life insurance coverage for a short period, term life insurance comes in picture.

Term life insurance is mostly meant for young working people with families. You can quickly find the best term life insurance quote using Internet. While searching for online term life insurance quotes you should keep some points in mind like the premium to be paid, term of the insurance, term life insurance rate, authenticity of the company etc. You can find affordable term life insurance by searching online life insurance companies. By comparing life insurance policies of different companies you can find the best term life insurance policy suitable for you.

resource:http://www.ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Quickly-Find-the-Best-Term-Life-Insurance-Quote?&id=187724

Life Insurance - Why We Buy Life Insurance

Why do people buy life insurance? We work hard for a living. Sometimes the income earned affords us a comfortable life. In other cases we just barely make ends meet. Why then should we purchase a product that pays when we die? In some cases these policies are bought because it is simply common sense to protect our families or a possibly a business. In other cases it is a matter of passion. It is a deep desire on the part of a parent or spouse to protect surviving family members.

Young Married People

It seems obvious why young married people would buy life insurance. You have just said "I do". You are burning up with a deep passion for your mate. You want the best for your partner. You feel a powerful need to protect your spouse. You have provided the house, food to eat, nice clothes and you are having a grand time. You have a truly fulfilling life and you never want it to end. What if you should die? Your absence will hurt but you surely want to be assured your partner doesn't need financially. You therefore buy life insurance to guarantee that the spouse you love won't lose everything as a result of your death.

If the partner is good at handling money you leave a lump sum. If you have your doubts you provide an income.

You later have children. When you see that beautiful child you feel something that you were not aware that a human being could feel for another. You feel a kind of love that have no words to describe. You don't think of it at that point but sometime in the near future you know you must buy some life insurance to guarantee the financial future of that child. As s/he grows up you know that you want this child to be secure. You know you want a college education to be guaranteed. You save for these things but you need to be assured that the funds will be there even after your premature death.

Later Years

The children are now grown. You have put them through college and they are doing just fine in whatever fields they choose. You and your partner for life continue enjoying life. You have these policies you bought to protect the family in the early years. Should you keep them? Yes you should as you still want to guarantee your spouses financial security. Even if you have accumulated great wealth you still need to keep those policies as something new comes into play. I refer to Estate Taxes. A good chunk of your estate will go to the Federal Government. Life insurance can be used to offset the Federal Estate Tax.

Business Owners

People who own businesses have powerful reasons to buy life insurance. Whether you are a sole proprietor, have a business partnership arrangement or are a shareholder in a closely held corporation there is always a need for life insurance. A good policy from a good company can guarantee the continuation of your business.

resource:http://www.ezinesarticle.com/Article/Life-Insurance---Why-We-Buy-Life-Insurance/131833

A Few Facts About Term Life Insurances

Everyone should have a term life insurance policy, but there are some things that you need to know before signing for a policy. Term life insurance policies have a fixed lifespan. If the insured dies after the term, his family won’t receive anything. However, there are some advantages for this type of policy and you should consider them.

A term life insurance policy can be cheap, especially if you consider the amount that the family will get if something happens. In most cases, people get term life insurance policies to cover their mortgages, for the exact duration of the mortgage. This way, if the insured dies, his family won’t have to worry about making mortgage payments because the life insurance policy covers this scenario. If the person dies after the mortgage is paid and the term life insurance expires, his family won’t receive any amount, but these kinds of life insurance policies are used for mortgages and it is better to be safe than sorry. Whole life insurance policies are more expensive than term life insurance ones and they offer full protection. If a death occurs when the person has a valid term life insurance his family will get the same amount that they would get with a whole life insurance.

There are many term life insurance companies which can offer you exactly what you need, but first you should learn a few things about life insurance policies or contact a life insurance broker. If you manage to make the right decision you will be able to provide security for you family and you won’t have to worry about what happens to them after your death. A good life insurance policy can make all the difference.

resource:http://www.ezinesarticle.com/Article/A-Few-Facts-About-Term-Life-Insurances/136460