Give your beneficiaries your life insurance policy information. It can be a difficult and awkward conversation, but an important one.
Keep all your financial records (especially your life insurance policies) in one place. Don't force your beneficiaries to search your house from top to bottom after you die.
Tips for looking for lost life insurance policies:
Go through canceled checks or contact your relative's bank for copies of old checks. Look for checks made out to insurance companies.
Ask those who may have known about your relative's finances. Speak with the relative's lawyer, banker or accountant. Also contact the relative's insurance agent.
Contact your relative's past employers. They might know of possible group life insurance. The insured might have also purchased supplemental life insurance through work.
Check the mail for a year. Premium bills and policy-status notices are usually sent annually.
Look at income tax returns for the past two years. Check for interest income from policies or expenses paid to life insurance companies.
If you're a beneficiary and you find the lost life insurance policy shortly after the insured dies (within six months to a year, for example), claiming the death benefit should be trouble-free.
