Life Insurance & Annuities Forum

Sep. 19, 2007

My family believes that my father had some life insurance policies that we cannot find. How can we find out what kind of policies they are and if they are still in force?

Charlie, Iowa

It may be possible to track down your father's life insurance policies, but it will likely involve a fair amount of legwork. Here are some tips that may help you track down the policies:

• Try going through canceled checks or contacting your father's bank for copies of old checks, if you have access to them. If your father wrote out checks to pay premiums, the name of the insurer will be on the checks.
• Are there any other family members who might have been privy to your father's financials? Perhaps they know where he purchased the insurance.
• Try finding your father's auto or home insurance agent. They might have sold him the life insurance policies, or may know who did. Also ask his lawyer, banker, and accountant.
• Contact your father's past employer to see if he had any group life insurance.

Bear in mind though that if you are not one of the parties to the insurance policy — the policyowner, insured, or beneficiary — it is unlikely that the insurance company will share the details of the policy with you.

For more on lost policies, read What happens to old lost life insurance policies?

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Disclaimer: We are journalists, not financial planners or insurance brokers. Nothing we say should be interpreted as a recommendation to buy or sell any insurance product, or to provide other financial or legal advice.