How is a Life Insurance Policy Claim Made?
You’ve chosen your life insurance policy. You’ve selected your plots. You’ve talked to your children about the eventually of your death. But how do you know they’ll get the money you’ve saved up for them? Every year hundreds of life insurance claims are rejected because the claimants did not properly file the necessary information. So, let’s talk about how we can avoid that situation.
Three Basic Steps — The three basic steps in filing a life insurance claim are notification, claim processing and resolution. However, while these three steps may seem like a snap of the fingers, they take more work and follow-up than many people understand.
What is notification? — When someone dies, a family member of the deceased must file a notification of death with the insurance company. This is the first step in filing a claim for benefits. In a notification of death, you must provide the following information:
- Full name of the insured party
- Date of birth
- Date of death
- Cause of death
- State of residence
- Policy number or numbers
- Name of person reporting the claim/relationship to the deceased
- Daytime and evening phone numbers
It is also helpful to have a copy of the insurance claim(s) as well as a copy of the death certificate, since some insurance companies may require you to have these documents for dispersal of benefits.
What if I cannot find my loved one’s policy? — If, for some reason, you cannot find a copy of your loved one’s life insurance policy and do not know who issued it, you can contact the Missing Policy Service at the American Council of Life Insurance in Washington, D.C. They will make every effort to help you locate the lost policy.
Important things to remember — While any member of the deceased’ s family may file a claim for death benefits, the issuing Agent will only contact the beneficiary listed in the Life Insurance Policy on file with the insurance company.
What is Claims Processing? — After the notification of death is received, the issuing Agent will contact the beneficiary of the policy to gather any necessary forms, e.g. W-9, estate information, death certificate, etc. They may request additional information about the death of your loved one and can provide you with the status of the claim.
What is a Resolution? — A resolution is made once the policy and all of the required documentation has been received and reviewed. At this point, a payment will be made to the beneficiary of the policy with regards to any terms, exclusions and conditions included the actual policy.
Remember, it is important to provide complete and accurate information to the insurance company in the event of a death. If you provide false information, not only will not receive your benefits, but you may also be cited for insurance fraud, and could face jail time.
|
