How to find a lost life insurance policy

Start with the free national search

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners, the body that brings together US state insurance regulators, runs a free Life Insurance Policy Locator. You will find it on the NAIC website at naic.org.

1. Fill in the request with the details from the death certificate: full legal name, Social Security number, dates of birth and death, and last address.
2. The request is passed to the participating life insurance and annuity companies.
3. Each company checks its records. If one finds a policy and you are the beneficiary, or are authorized to receive the information, that company contacts you directly.

It can take up to about three months to hear back, and you will hear nothing if no policy is found or if you are not the beneficiary. So send the request early and carry on with the other checks below while you wait. The service is free. Be wary of any site that charges for it.

Search the paperwork

• Files and drawers. Look for policy documents, premium notices and annual statements. Check a safe, a desk and any box labelled insurance or important papers.
• Bank and card statements. Go back at least a year and look for regular payments to an insurance company. Some policies are paid once a year, so one page is not enough.
• The mail. Watch what arrives for the next twelve months. Premium reminders and yearly statements will turn up.
• Tax returns. Some policies pay interest or dividends that are reported at tax time, and a preparer may have a record of the company.
• The address book and phone. Look for an insurance agent or financial advisor. They will often know about every policy they sold.

Ask the places that offer group coverage

• Employers, current and past. Many jobs include life insurance. Call the human resources or benefits office and ask.
• Unions and professional bodies.
• Veterans. The Department of Veterans Affairs can tell you about service-related life insurance.
• Banks and lenders. A mortgage, car loan or credit card sometimes came with a policy that pays the balance.

Check unclaimed property

When an insurer cannot find the person it owes, it eventually hands the money to the state. Search the unclaimed property office of every state where the person lived. Our guide to unclaimed property explains how.

When you find a policy

Call the company's claims line. They will ask for a certified copy of the death certificate and a claim form from each beneficiary. Payment goes to the person named on the policy, not through the will, and it usually arrives within weeks once the forms are in.

If premiums stopped being paid some time ago, ask anyway. Some policies keep a reduced benefit or a cash value after payments end, and the company can tell you whether this one did.