Life Insurance

[Jenay29]

Hello,I live in the state of Florida. My grandmother died 2yrs ago, my sister and I are the only decendents left of our family. My grandmothers money is in a trust account, the bank is the executor of the will, and basically runs everything. It has recently come to my attention that they (the bank) has only one record of a Life Insurance policy, I know for a fact that she had 2. I do not have any paperwork to secure this. The one they claim she had is worth $3,000.00, both my mother and grandfather had higher policies, and I know there were 2. Now, how do I go about finding this Ins. Company? They aren't going to come looking for me, and if I don't have the paperwork, then I can't prove it, the company can just claim they don't have one, right? I can't prove it, either way. I appreciate your advice on this matter. Thank you for your time.




[Edited by Jenay29 on 01-22-2001 at 09:22 PM]

 

[ALawyer]

Finding life insurance policies or annuities outstanding is not always easy, as there is no "central registry" and some policies are paidup and did not require ongoing payments.

Here are some techniques to use:

1. Go through all the papers of the deceased to see if the actual policy, or any forms or correspondence related to an insurance policy or annuity turns up.

2. Go throught the checkbook of the deceased for as many years back as possible looking for premium payments made to an insurance company.

3. If the deceased was employed inquire at the firm about any Group Life Insurance that it carried for the deceased. Many larger employers provide paid up group life to retirees.

3a Did the deceased belong to any association or clubs or fraternal organizations that may have sponsored or otherwise provided life insurance programs? For example such diverse organizations as AARP, Knights of Columbus, Rotary, Lutheran Brotherhood, etc. try to market insurance to members. Contact the organization and ask what companies they sponsored

4. Ask friends and neighbors if the deceased ever mentioned life insurance, or an insurance agent, and if so what company or agent.

5. If you have any lead or clue, write to Home Office of the insurance company with as much information as possible, including the name, date of birth, social security number, and all known past addresses.

6. If you find nothing, it may be worthwhile to write to the top 10 or 20 life insurance companies with the same information; the top 20 life companies, including MetLife, Prudential, John Hancock, New York Life, Nortwestern Mutual, Equitable, MassMutual, Transamerica, Allstate, Stae Farm, Mutual of Omaha, Guardian, wrote overt 50% of all life insurance sold some years back when the policy likely would have been bought. Beleive it or not, nearly all those companies will look for the policies. (As many older policies are administered in different parts of a company there often is no central record maintained by name so the company may have to check multiple files and the process can be time consuming.)

 

[Jenay29]

thank you

Thank you for replying. Her apartment has been sold, and all the papers were thrown out. I have gone through her address book, but I didn't find anything in there. I am at my witts end with this. I believe the bank isn't being entirely truthful about alot of things. When her apartment was sold, I never saw the money go into the bank, we get monthly statements. Is it expesive to hire a lawyer for a trust, to have then check through it all, making sure everything is the way it is supposed to be? There is not as much money in there as there should have been. I am not in need of this money,I am just trying to get the honest truth. Alot of things don't make sense. Thank you for your time.