After a death, it may not be clear whether the deceased person had a life insurance policy. Relevant information could be found in personal records, banking documents, digital files or through an employer, advisor or professional association.
Before requesting a search from OLHI, review the sources below. These steps may help you confirm whether a life insurance policy exists and identify the insurance company that issued it.
Where to look for a deceased person’s life insurance policy
Start by gathering the deceased person’s personal and financial records. Some information may be easy to locate, but you may need to review several sources to find a policy document, a record of premium payments or a message from an insurer.
- Personal records: check filing cabinets, safes, safe-deposit boxes and other places where important documents may have been stored.
- Emails and digital files: search for the name of an insurance company, the word “insurance” or messages concerning a policy.
- Banking records: look for recurring payments or withdrawals that may have been used to pay insurance premiums.
- Insurance agent and professional advisors: contact the deceased person’s insurance agent, if known, as well as their lawyer, accountant or financial advisor.
- Employer or former employer: the human resources department may have information about group life insurance offered to active or retired employees.
- Group disability plan: determine whether life insurance coverage was included with any group disability benefits.
- Professional or labour associations: some associations provide life insurance coverage to their members.
- Credit cards: contact the card issuers to determine whether life or travel insurance coverage was connected to the account.
- Travel insurance: if the death occurred while the person was travelling, check whether additional coverage had been purchased. Some travel insurance policies include a death benefit.
What to do if you still cannot find the policy
In some cases, there may be no paper document or email confirming that a policy exists. When your own search does not produce a result, OLHI may be able to contact its participating companies to determine whether one of them holds a policy in the deceased person’s name.
Before submitting a request, review OLHI’s life insurance policy search process. It explains:
- the requirements for requesting a search;
- how OLHI’s policy search works;
- when OLHI can and cannot conduct a search;
- how to submit a policy search request.