ARE YOU OWED LIFE INSURANCE?

(This is an abstract of an article that appeared in the Wall Street Journal  December 31, 2011 authored by Leslie Scism. Its content give executors, wives, mothers, sons, daughters, and grand children several places to look for hidden assets of their deceased friend or relative as they endeavor to settle up the estate.)

The article estimates A Billion Dollars goes un paid each year for a variety of reasons. Leslie makes an effort to show you where to look for those unknown assets. Leslie suggests that you:

1. Look through papers and records of the past years, including income tax returns, and bank statements. They often contain clues of payments or receipts, including policy numbers.

2. Look through address books the deceased kept for names and phone numbers of insurance agents.

3. Check the mail for at least a year after the person’s death, even what looks like junk mail. Follow up on clues such as premium notices, dividend statements, annuity checks, notices of annual reports of values of paid up policies.

4. Visit the website of the American Council of Life Insurers for a list of search tips they have compiled for your use.

5. Visit MIB GROUP, INC. website for a data base designed to help beneficiaries search for unknown policies on the decedent. All applications for life insurance are recorded there. A bit of sleuthing can determine if they are still in force.

6. Make use of policy locator services such as:

    a. MIB GROUP, INC., which charges $75 per person researched. Go to http://www.policylocaor.com/.

   b. Met Life has a policy locator at http://www.metlife.com/policyfinder.

   c. Prudential provides a telephone number 1-800-778-2255. They advise you to remember to search by maiden name and prior married names as well as the current name. Since Social Security numbers are usually a life-long constant, search by Social Security number and birth date, as well as date of death.

   d. The Department of Insurance of some states also provide policy search services. Be sure to check with the Department of Insurance of the states in which the deceased has lived and worked. The search request forms appear on the Department’s website.

Readers may contact Leslie Scism at leslie.scism@wsj.com.