Sometimes the person tasked with handling the estate’s affairs after the death of a loved one isn’t quite sure whether all of the decedent’s life insurance policies have been identified. Substantial amounts of money could be lost by one or more beneficiaries if a claim is never filed against a valid policy. The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) offers a service that might help via its “insurance policy locator.”
A requester simply has to submit a Consumer Request Form to TDI. Then, TDI shares the information about the decedent with participating life insurance companies. A company will contact the requester with policy information if it determines it holds a valid policy on the decedent’s life. According to TDI, most policies are located within 90 days of a request. If no response is received within 90 days, it generally means that no policy existed or the requester is ineligible to receive the information.
Click here to view the list of participating companies on TDI’s website. Click here to obtain a copy of the Consumer Request Form from TDI’s website. Click here to read tips from TDI for tracing missing or old life insurance policies.
To avoid this type of dilemma, it’s prudent to keep a list of life insurance policies in the same place that the person stores their estate plan, whether it be a Will or Trust document (e.g. in a safe deposit box, for example).
Author Jim Cramp is the founder and principal attorney at the Cramp Law Firm. The Cramp Law Firm provides a spectrum of family-related legal services in the greater San Antonio Region.