When my father passed, he left detailed instructions about his finances and life insurance policies. As he was an organized man, this was not surprising. What was surprising was that he had 5 different life insurance policies. Instead of getting one large policy, he added policies as his circumstances changed and his income increased. This was not a bad idea but I kept thinking as I filled all 5 claims, “What if he hadn’t written down all this information?”
A little-known fact is that unclaimed life insurance is a huge problem. You may have applied for life insurance benefits to provide for your family and diligently paid the premiums. However, your policy could be lost, misplaced, or forgotten. If so, your beneficiaries won’t know to collect your life insurance benefits.
Insurance companies are not obligated to contact you about a life insurance policy they are holding, even if they learn that the insured has died. Therefore, if your family does not know what policies you have, they do not know to file a claim upon your passing.
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