insure logo

Why you should trust Insure.com

quality icon

Quality Verified

At Insure.com, we are committed to providing honest and reliable information so that you can make the best financial decisions for you and your family. All of our content is written and reviewed by industry professionals and insurance experts. We maintain strict editorial independence from insurance companies to maintain editorial integrity, so our recommendations are unbiased and are based on a comprehensive list of criteria.

Home insurance policy jacketSorry for your loss.  The first place to look for the homeowners insurance policy is in your father’s home, wherever he keeps files.

Another place to try is any “off-site” area that he may have owned or rented, such as safety deposit box. 

If you can’t find the actual policy, look at your father’s checkbook and credit card statements for a record of payment to a home insurance company.  You might need to search several months back if he paid his premium annually. That can be time-consuming, so another approach would be to contact your father’s mortgage company.

Mortgage lenders require homeowners to carry insurance on the house and the insurer is often listed as an additional insured.  The mortgage lender should be able to share that information with you as you are his heir. Once you have the insurer name you can contact the carrier to switch the policy to you.

Find out how to change names on insurance policies after the death of a policyholder.

My dad passed away and we need to find the homeowners insurance policy. What should we do?

author image
Penny Gusner
Contributor

 
  

Penny is an expert on insurance procedures, rates, policies and claims. She has extensive knowledge of all major insurance lines -- auto, homeowners, life and health insurance. She has been answering consumers’ questions as an analyst for more than 15 years and has been featured in numerous major media outlets, including the Washington Post and Kiplinger’s.

home-insurance

QuickTake

See more >