Insurance Checklist After a Death in the Family

LOS ANGELES - Sept. 10, 2024 - PRLog -- After a loved one passes away, you'll need to take care of any remaining business and to close their accounts. As you begin sorting through all the paperwork and bills, you'll also need to make sure that certain insurance policies are claimed, some canceled and other ones amended. The following insurance checklist after death will help guide you through the necessary steps to handle all existing insurance policies (car, homeowners, commercial, renters, health and life insurance) after a death in the family.
Gather Essential Documents

• Death Certificates: Make multiple certified copies of the certified death certificate, as it will be required for several insurance policies as well as any accounts you intend to close.
• Insurance Policies: Locate any life, health, auto, home, renters and commercial insurance policies for which the deceased was either the primary policyholder or is named in the policy.
• Proof of Relationship: Have the relevant marriage and birth certificates as well as personal identification ready to prove the relationship to the deceased.
• Will and Testament: If there is one, find the legal will or trust left behind by the deceased person. If you're unsure that one exists, contact their personal attorney.
• Major Credit Reporting Agencies. TransUnion, Experian and Equifax will let you know if the deceased owes money to any financial institutions, like a credit card company.

Life Insurance Policies

Sometimes, life insurance companies will reach out to the beneficiary or beneficiaries of the life insurance policy, but not always. Once you have a death certificate, go ahead and contact insurance companies and be ready with a death certificate for each one.

If you're the beneficiary, you can now initiate the claim process to receive the death and burial benefits. Having the policy number is very helpful too.

Not only do you need to contact the deceased's personal life insurance company, but they may also have had life insurance through an employer. It's important for the beneficiary to contact that employer to receive the death benefit.

Review Life Insurance Policies

• Beneficiary Designations: Confirm the named beneficiaries on all life insurance policies.
• Private Life Insurance and Group Life Insurance: You may need to contact both an employer about a group life insurance policy as well as contacting the deceased's private life insurance company.
• Payout Options: The beneficiary can choose to receive the life insurance death benefit as a lump sum or as annuities. The payment can cover a funeral or memorial service.

Health Insurance of the Deceased

Contact the health insurance company and ...

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