How to Find a Deceased Person's Life Insurance Policy

If you think someone who died had life insurance, start with what you can document. You do not need to pay a company to begin the search. A policy can be held through an insurer, an employer, or another group, and its name may have changed over time. The Washington insurance commissioner's search guide and the NAIC's free locator provide a useful sequence.

Search records you can access lawfully

Look for policy documents, annual statements, premium notices, bank or credit-card payments to an insurer, and emails from an agent. Ask the deceased person's last employer or benefits administrator whether they had group life coverage and which insurer administered it. A separate supplemental policy may appear in payroll records. Ask an existing home or auto insurance agent whether they know of a life policy. Keep the deceased person's legal name, date of birth, date of death, and a certified death certificate handy; an insurer will explain what else it needs for a claim.

Use the NAIC Life Insurance Policy Locator

The NAIC Life Insurance Policy Locator is a free request service for lost life insurance policies and annuity contracts. Follow the NAIC's instructions to enter information from the death certificate into its secure portal. Participating insurers search their records; if a policy is found and you are the beneficiary or have authority to receive information, the insurer contacts you directly. The NAIC does not send you a list of every policy, and no response does not prove that no policy exists. Give sensitive identifying information only to the official NAIC portal or an insurer you have verified, not to a third-party form claiming to be TFS.

Check state unclaimed-property programs

Benefits may eventually be turned over to a state unclaimed-property office. The National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators links to official state searches, which are free. Check states where the person lived and where the insurer may have reported the property. A state match is a lead, not proof that a life policy existed or that you are entitled to the money; follow that state's claim instructions.

If you know the insurer but cannot reach it

Policies can move when insurers merge or change names. The NAIC company locator guidance recommends finding the insurer's full legal name and the state where the policy was issued, then contacting that state's insurance department for help identifying the current company. State departments do not maintain records of each person's policy. If you find a policy or group benefit, contact the insurer to begin the claim and ask for its required forms and deadline.

Keep a dated list of requests, confirmation numbers, and insurer responses. If a company delays or denies a claim and you cannot resolve it, your state insurance department can explain complaint options. If a payment arrives, our payout guide helps compare the next choices.