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How can I find people insurance polices on their behalf?
Hello! Thanks for your request about how you can find people insurance policies on their behalf. The sources I found most helpful in answering your question are those from the Insurance Information Institute (III), NAIC Policy Locator Service, The Balance and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) website.
In short, my research found that the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administration (NAUPA) helps in redeeming unclaimed property, such as life insurance policies; I have also provided you with 12 practical ways that a third-party could find people insurance policies on their behalf. My research found no evidence that a power of attorney (POA) would be necessary for this purpose. I have detailed my findings below, please read on.
ASSUMPTIONS
For this request, I have focused most of my findings on the USA, albeit I have provided a sliver of helpful information covering Canada and the UK. Although I researched across all sectors of the insurance industry, including automobile, business, home, life and more, I discovered in the course of my research that finding people insurance policies on their behalf was best suited for the life insurance space, for this reason the information provided here covers finding lost life insurance policies overwhelmingly.
RESEARCH FINDINGS
Life Insurance emerged the dominant insurance space for which third-party may have to find a person's lost insurance policies, especially if the insurer is deceased; finding lost policies may apply if a deceased person has unclaimed auto or home insurance. From my search, I have found no evidence that a power of attorney (POA) is necessary for finding insurance policies on behalf of other people. The power of attorney, according to Legal Zoom, is a document that confers power on third-party (this may be a person or organization) to make decisions, partially or completely, on a principal's behalf if s/he is unable to do so. While a POA isn't necessary for finding lost insurance policies, there are acceptable protocols involved in doing this; below, I have identified 12 practical ways for finding lost insurance policies for other people.
1. BEGIN BY FINDING INSURANCE RELATED DOCUMENTS
You may begin by searching bank safe deposit boxes, going through files, and other storage places, to determine if any insurance related documents can be found in these places. You may also check through address books for insurance professionals or companies, any of these entities may have sold policies to the deceased insurer. According to the NAIC "You'll need some personal details of the insured individual including the full name (maiden name for a married individual), Social Security number and the state where the policy was purchased. To claim the benefit you'll also need a copy of the death certificate."
2. CONTACT FINANCIAL ADVISORS
Consult with the person's prior or present accountants, bankers, attorneys, investment advisors, business insurance agents/brokers, and other financial professionals, as they might have helpful information about the this person's insurance policies.
3. REVIEW DECEASED'S LIFE INSURANCE APPLICATIONS
Life insurance applications are usually attached to each other. If in the process of searching you found any other insurance policies of this deceased person, a list of other life insurance policies owned by the deceased, at the time of that particular application, may be attached to that application document.
4. CONTACT PREVIOUS EMPLOYERS
Contacting former employers of the deceased may be helpful since former employers maintain past records of policies acquired in a group.
5. CHECK HIS/HER CANCELED CHECKS, BANK BOOKS, AND STATEMENTS
Checks, payments or transactions involving life insurance companies may provide leads here. Thoroughly search to see if any records of these transactions exist.
6. CHECK THE PAST YEAR'S MAIL FOLLOWING THE POLICYHOLDER'S DEATH
In the mail, search for dividend notes and premium notices from the year of the deceased's passing. In the case of duly paid policies, there won't be any notices of premium payments, albeit the insurance company may still send out annual information on policy status and/or dividend notices.
7. INCOME TAX OF THE DECEASED SPANNING THE PAST TWO YEARS SHOULD BE REVIEWED
Search for interest expenses remitted to, as well as interest income received from insurance companies. According to the Insurance Information Institute "Life insurance companies pay interest on accumulations on permanent policies and charge interest on policy loans."
8. REACH OUT TO INSURANCE DEPARTMENTS OF THE STATE
The insurance policy finder solution provided by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) will be very helpful here. This tool would be very useful in finding officials from state insurance departments who might have written insurance policies on the deceased. The NAIC service may be accessed here.
9. USE THE STATE'S UNCLAIMED PROPERTY OFFICE
The National Association of Unclaimed Property Administration (NAUPA) helps in redeeming unclaimed property. Usually, if an insurance company is aware of the passing of its insurer, but cannot locate the beneficiaries of the policy, the company is required to turn the policy's benefits over to the state's office of unclaimed property after a predetermined number of years. If you know or can make an educated guess on where the policy was bought, the state comptroller's office may be contacted to verify any unclaimed life insurance property belonging to the deceased
10. USE PAID SERVICE FOR LOST LIFE POLICY SEARCH
There are companies such as MIB Group, MetLife, Beaton and many others who offer Life Insurance search services. These services are useful in finding if a deceased person has any life insurance cover.
11. IN CASE THE POLICY WAS BOUGHT OVERSEAS
For policies acquired in Canada, you may contact the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association for guidance. For policies made in the UK, the National Unclaimed Property Associates (NUPA) has provided useful information on their website to guide your search, here.
12. SEARCH THE MIB DATABASE
Although there are no databases containing policy documents, a database of all individual life insurance applications that has been processed since January 01, 1996 has been maintained. Searching this database isn't always successful, and a random search reported by Insurance Information Institute had a 25% success rate. Detail information has been provided on the MIB consumer page.
CONCLUSION
In summary, my research found that the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administration (NAUPA) helps in redeeming unclaimed property, such as life insurance policies; I have also provided you with 12 practical ways that a third-party could find people insurance policies on their behalf. My research found no evidence that a power of attorney (POA) would be necessary for this purpose. I have detailed my findings below, please read on.
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