OT-Life insurance registers????

My uncle passed away a couple weeks ago and left the family in a mess of missing documents and papers. Apprently he did have life insurance but no one can find the policy of paperwork. Is there anything here in MN where ins companies register, or log, or anything with the state where they could contact and find out if he had a policy and with whom?

I"m not aware of any registers (I don"t think there is a central, statewide database), you might have to call a few local insurance offices and see if anyone has him on file, it will probably be someplace obvious like "Farmers" or "State Farm", etc.

Dave, I ran into similar problems when my mother died unexpectedly. First, get all the check book registers and bank statements and look for payments. Did he have a will? Talk to all the lawyers in town (hope it is a small town) to see if he used them to prepare a will. Call all the insurance agents. If he has moved, check the former towns where he lived and might have purchased insurance. Every state has an insurance board, they should be able to tell you quickly if such a register that you are looking for exists. Call the county clerk to see if a will or anything has been recorded, and also check for any property he may have owned. Some states will let you record a will. Florida will let you record a will, but in Georgia, the county clerk will not record a will, but if you give them a will in a sealed envelope, they will hold it for safe keeping. Was he ever divorced? Pull the divorce papers from the court house to look for clues. Did he have any loans or a relationship with the local bank? The loan application might list the insurance as an asset. Look for old phone directories - remember how people used to write down frequently called numbers in the back? Check the desk for old business cards. Ask his friends what they know - particulary if he had coffee with a group every morning at the local cafe. Check with former employers to see if he had insurance with them. Was he in a union or was he a veteran? Check the website for unclaimed assets with the state for MN and also any state where he ever lived or owned property. Did he have a pre-paid funeral deal with the local funeral home? They often have some forms that might have some information. What about old tax returns? Did he pay someone to do his taxes? They might have some records.
There are a lot of places where you might find clues. Good luck.

Dave---you wrote "Apprently he did have life insurance".

Why is that apparent? More info on this is needed.....

A Long Shot----not just too long ago (mid to late 1980"s, Prudential Insurance of America--PRU
had coverage on 25% of everyone in America......

There were literally millions of old policies taken out in the 1940"s and 1950"s that the company made "paid up" so they would not have the cost of handling premiums on, and sending premium notices out.

The Co. also stopped sending info to the owners of the policies unless they specifically request it.....policy #"s started with the letter "M".

Last month I was involve with a claim on a policy that had a face amount of $750....the death claim paid was more than $6000...

Tim

check with previous employers too...could be a group plan.

I noticed that too, Tim.

"Apparently" is not appropriate in this case. A person has life insurance or he does not.

I know of no "registers" nor do I know why insurance companies would create such.

Dean

OK, "apparently" meant certain people close to the uncle, say he had stated many times he had life ins, ussually coming up in conversations about his grandkids since he really has not had a very good relationship with his kids, who are trying to take care of the mess he had dug himslef into.

Look at his check book. Any payments to an insurance company should be checked out.

They could be paid up policies so he wouldn't have been making premium payments. But he should have at least a yearly statement. I get mine every quarter.

I would just start calling on the local ins. offices in the nearest town where he did business.

Where did he have auto and home or farm ins? Check with those companies first.

Good luck, Gene

Speak with the agent(s) where he bought his casualty insurance. Without a doubt they tried to sell life insurance to him.

Dean

There's no guarantee that the insurance company is based in your state, or that it even has the same name as is on the policy.

I have an old policy that my parents took out for me when I was a child. Even though the policy is paid up, I get a letter from the insurance company once a year saying how much my dividend is. I've moved many times in the past twenty years without giving them my forwarding address and they've always kept up with me. If your uncle really had a policy his family should receive some correspondence from the company in the next 12 months, assuming he kept his forwarding address current with the post office.

If you don't find a life insurance policy in the house, how about a key with the name of a bank...as in a "safe deposit box" key? If he lived in or near small town(s), check with the banks there to see if he has/had safe deposit box(es) where he kept special valuables (such as life insurance policies).

Old bank statments from year gone by may hold the answer.

Another place to always look when dealing with older folks is their bible often had cash and important papers in them.

In my grandfathers case we were told that often insurance companies do not send out payment notices for the elderly, so they will let the insurance drop from non payment. That was thirty years ago, and perhaps it is mandated by now?