How do you find insurance plans that are MIA?

Asked by anonymous from an unspecified location

Finding an insurance policy that’s gone missing isn’t easy. But if you’re willing to spend some time doing research, possibly talking to friends and family members, and making a call or two, you can make things easier on yourself–and increase the chances of finding that policy that’s MIA.

First, if the missing policy is your own or an immediate family member’s, I’d suggest looking through past financial records, such as cancelled checks or receipts, to see if you can find out which company wrote the missing policy. If you can find a name, you can look up their customer service number online and give them a call to get a copy of it.

If the policy belonged to a deceased family member, try asking extended family if they know anything about the plan, where it was purchased or from whom. If that doesn’t reveal anything helpful, look through the deceased person’s financial records, contact his or her previous employers to see if the plan might have been purchased through a group offering, or review past income tax returns to see if any interest income was recorded by the person who has passed.

If none of these methods work, try contacting the state department of insurance where you or a loved one purchased the policy. They may have information that can help locate the policy and the company that wrote it.

For more information on finding missing insurance policies, see our article on the subject here. Though this article addresses life insurance in particular, the principle is the same, no matter what type of policy you’re searching for.