Are you missing benefits from a life insurance policy? Look here.
December 1, 2016 by Audrey Dutton
A new tool will help people claim benefits from the life insurance policies and annuities of dead loved ones.
The Idaho Department of Insurance and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners announced the tool this week.
The Life Insurance Policy Locator is meant to connect people with unclaimed benefits. There are $1 billion in unclaimed benefits from life insurance policies, the department said, citing Consumer Reports estimates.
“Many people don’t know where to begin when searching for a lost life insurance policy or annuity,” said Dean Cameron, the department director, in a news release. “The life insurance policy locator streamlines and simplifies the process for consumers and insurance companies.”
The tool allows consumers to submit requests — encrypted and secured — that insurance companies use to find matches based on policyholder information. The companies will report matches to state insurance departments, including Idaho’s, and will contact beneficiaries or their representatives.
Click here to read an advisory from the Idaho Department of Insurance about steps to take when you do not have life-insurance policy documents.