Renée Deveney is a former NerdWallet writer covering life insurance. Before joining NerdWallet, Renée led content creation at MoneyGeek, where she and her team covered a wide range of personal finance topics. She’s also written, edited and managed content on health, real estate and more. Renée holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from Rollins College.
Reviewed by Tony Steuer Life insurance expert Tony Steuer
Life insurance expert | Life Insurance
Tony Steuer is a financial wellness advocate, podcaster and speaker, and the author of "Questions and Answers on Life Insurance." His advice has been featured in media outlets including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Fast Company, Forbes and CNBC. He has a bachelor of science degree in finance from California State University and holds the following designations: Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU), Life and Disability Insurance Analyst (LA) and Certified Personal and Family Finance Educator (CPFFE).
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Assistant Assigning Editor Katia Iervasi
Assistant Assigning Editor | Life insurance, disability insurance, health care
Katia Iervasi is an assistant assigning editor at NerdWallet. An insurance authority, she previously spent over six years covering insurance topics as a writer, where she loved untangling complicated topics and answering readers’ burning money questions. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in communication and has studied writing, fact-checking and editing with Poynter. Her writing and analysis has been featured in The Washington Post, Forbes, Yahoo, Entrepreneur, Best Company and FT Advisor. Originally from Sydney, Australia, Katia currently lives in New York City.
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Life insurance policies go unclaimed when beneficiaries don’t receive the death benefit — or payout — after an insured person dies. This may happen because the beneficiaries don’t know the policy exists or which insurer issued the policy.
There are millions of dollars in unclaimed benefits floating around the United States. In Florida alone, $297 million of unclaimed life insurance funds were recovered within a seven-year period, according to the state's Department of Financial Services.
Ensuring that your beneficiaries know you have coverage and where to find your policy information can help prevent lost life insurance benefits.
Did you know.Under the Unclaimed Life Insurance Benefits Act, life insurance companies are required to check the Social Security Administration’s Death Master File at least twice a year in an effort to connect beneficiaries with unclaimed funds. Since 2011, when the legislation went into effect, more than half of U.S. states have since adopted laws to ensure life insurance funds are distributed, even if the beneficiaries didn’t make a claim or know they were entitled to a payout.
Life insurance policies are often unclaimed when beneficiaries aren’t aware of the policy or which insurer to contact. It typically falls on the beneficiaries to let the insurer know a policyholder has died when making a life insurance claim.
Some of the most common reasons life insurance policies go unclaimed include:
The policy documents had missing or outdated beneficiary information. The policyholder moved or changed addresses. The policyholder forgot they took out a policy. The insurance company is unaware of the policyholder’s death. The insurance company’s name changed or the company was sold.Beneficiaries don’t know the insurance policy exists — this is common with group life insurance offered by employers.
The beneficiary is a minor. (Insurers can’t pay out policies to minors directly.) The beneficiary died and there is no secondary beneficiary listed on the policy. The policy information or paperwork is lost.Preventing life insurance from going unclaimed starts with having honest conversations with your loved ones. Whether you are a policyholder or believe you may be the beneficiary of a policy, discussing the details of estate planning and life insurance can help give everyone peace of mind.
Take these steps so your beneficiaries have the support they need in the event of your death:
Notify beneficiaries of the policy and how to file a claim . Many companies let you file a claim online, while others require a phone call to start the process.
Share the company name and policy number with your beneficiaries, executor or attorney. This will make it quicker and easier to make a claim and receive the life insurance death benefit .
Store the policy information in a safe place. Make sure beneficiaries know how to access relevant paperwork.
Double-check the beneficiary information you’ve provided to your insurer. This includes the beneficiary’s name, address, contact information and Social Security number. It’s worth adding a contingent — or secondary — beneficiary to your policy in case your primary beneficiary dies before you do.
It’s a good idea to review your policy information whenever you or your beneficiaries go through a major life event, like getting married, buying a house, having a child or getting a divorce.
Frequently asked questions Can I find unclaimed life insurance policies for free?You can search for unclaimed life insurance policies using the National Association of Insurance Commissioner's (NAIC's) free policy locator . The MIB , a group that gathers information based on insurance applications, also has a policy locator service, though you’ll need to pay a fee. Finally, the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators can help you identify missing or unknown funds.
What happens if a life insurance policy is never claimed?Funds from unclaimed life insurance policies are eventually turned over to the state where the policyholder last resided. In Florida, for example, unclaimed life insurance funds are reported to the state after five years and then turned over during the sixth year. Beneficiaries are still able to claim the money at any time, so check for unclaimed property in the policyholder’s state of residence if you think you may be owed money from a life insurance policy .
Does unclaimed life insurance accrue interest?In some states, life insurance companies may owe beneficiaries interest on unclaimed life insurance benefits once the funds are paid out. The amount of interest and the date when the “clock” starts ticking for payable interest varies by state.
Can I find unclaimed life insurance policies for free?You can search for unclaimed life insurance policies using the National Association of Insurance Commissioner's (NAIC's)
free policy locator
, a group that gathers information based on insurance applications, also has a policy locator service, though you’ll need to pay a fee. Finally, the
National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators
can help you identify missing or unknown funds.
What happens if a life insurance policy is never claimed?Funds from unclaimed life insurance policies are eventually turned over to the state where the policyholder last resided. In Florida, for example, unclaimed life insurance funds are reported to the state after five years and then turned over during the sixth year. Beneficiaries are still able to claim the money at any time, so check for unclaimed property in the policyholder’s state of residence if you think you may be owed money from a
life insurance policy
Does unclaimed life insurance accrue interest?In some states, life insurance companies may owe beneficiaries interest on unclaimed life insurance benefits once the funds are paid out. The amount of interest and the date when the “clock” starts ticking for payable interest varies by state.
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Renée Deveney is a former NerdWallet writer covering life insurance. She is passionate about financial education and empowerment for all. See full bio.
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