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Filing a Life Insurance Claim

By October 3, 2018December 15th, 2022No Comments

Eventually, the time comes for everyone to need to know the process of filing a life insurance claim. A loved one has died, and in spite of the mourning, something needs to be done about their life insurance policy. You don’t need to wait until this happens to know what to do to take care of this necessity.

When filing a life insurance claim, your agent will be of great help. He or she can walk you through the process but knowing some things ahead of time can help you deal with what can seem like a complex process.

The first thing you need to do is locate the policy or policies your loved one held. Having these in hand will help greatly when filing a life insurance claim. There are two basic types of life insurance policies: term life and universal or whole life.

If the policy is a term life type, it typically is in force for a time period of ten or twenty years. One of the first things you need to do when filing a life insurance claim on a term life policy is to make sure the policy has not expired.

With the universal or whole life type of policy, there may either fixed or flexible benefits and, possibly, interest that has accumulated. This type of policy also may have a loan option, so you should check to see if there have been unpaid loans against the policy. This will decrease the benefits.

When filing a life insurance claim, be sure to check with the deceased’s employer if he/she was still working. Sometimes, there will be a life insurance policy with an employer-based, group insurance plan. Also check to see if there is a life insurance policy included with any of your loved one’s accounts.

A major step when filing a life insurance claim is to get copies of the death certificate. Most of the time, completing these copies is one of the duties of the funeral director.

Once you have the policies and death certificate, contact the insurance companies involved and get the details of the procedure they require. In rare instances when filing a life insurance claim, the claim will be rejected. If this happens, immediately file an objection asking for reasons for the rejection.

Some of these reasons you may be able to take care of, others you may not. If the insured person failed to pay premiums or lied on the application or if the cause of death is not covered by the policies, you may not be able to do anything about them. Other reasons for rejection may be able to be handled. Contact your agent for help.

This information about filing a life insurance claim has been brought to you by Corriveau Insurance Agency. We’re an independent insurance agency in Nashua, NH. We’re a family owned business since 1912. Call us for a review of your insurance needs. Call 603-883-5528 today!