When someone dies, and you’re gathering together the money, property and possessions they left behind — known as their estate — the admin isn’t always in order. This can make things tricky, at an already tough time. But where do you start if you’re not sure if they had a life insurance policy, and how do you make a claim if they did? Here are some of the steps you can take. How do you know if someone had a life insurance policy? If you think a relative or friend who has died had a life insurance policy, but you don’t have the policy documents, or know the name of the insurer, the first step is to check their bank statements. That way, you’ll be able to see their regular payments, and keep...
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You may have money waiting if a loved one named you on a life insurance policy and then neglected to tell you about it. Unclaimed life insurance policies aren’t as unusual as you would think either. According to a study by Consumer Reports, 1 out of every 600 people is the beneficiary of an unclaimed life insurance policy with an average benefit of $2,000. It could be like finding out you have a secret savings account. A life insurance beneficiary is someone who receives the payout from your life insurance when you die. Life insurers, which paid out $784 billion in benefits in 2018, make efforts to find the rightful owners of unclaimed insurance policies, says Whit Cornman, a spokesman for...
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If someone close to you has passed away, finding the life insurance policy of the deceased is understandably not going to be the first thing on your mind. But with anywhere between £100 million [1] and £2 billion [2] in unclaimed life insurance policies lying dormant, it’s crucial that you know where to locate a life insurance policy. And as we’ll explain, finding lost life insurance policies may require a little detective work. How do you find out if a deceased person had life insurance? Sorting through paperwork is always an unenviable task, but it may not be as hard as you think to find the life insurance policy of a deceased person. But how else can you find lost...
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The primary function of life insurance is to make sure that your loved are financially secure when you’re no longer there to provide for them yourself. Sounds simple, right? Well yes… and no. Here at Old Mutual iWYZE Life Insurance, we often find that most people have burning questions when it comes to choosing what type of life insurance to buy for their needs, how much cover they need, or whether or they even need it at all. In this article we delve a little deeper into the things you should consider before deciding to get a life insurance quote. Start by asking yourself 4 questions: If you’re still unsure whether or not you actually need to buy life insurance, consider what it would mean...
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By: Naseega Botha, FISA member, Fiduciary Practitioner of SA (FPSA®), and Head of Fiduciary & Legal Services at Genesis Advisory Services (Pty) Ltd Beneficiary nominations on life insurance – how they can affect executor’s fees and estate duty Many of us have life insurance policies that we have taken out for the financial protection of our loved ones in the event that we pass on or to settle debts that we may have. This article intends to highlight the importance of proper consideration when nominating a beneficiary for your life insurance policy. Before deciding on whom to nominate as beneficiary of your life insurance policy, executor’s fees and estate duty must be taken into...
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You’ve protected your family by buying life insurance, but you’re not done yet — you have to share the details with them. Here's why. Do you remember those “set it and forget it” rotisserie infomercials? While buying life insurance can have the same set it and forget it feel, there’s another important step to take after purchasing a life insurance policy before you can consider the job of protecting your family done: You need to share this important information with your beneficiary (your spouse, your children, a sibling, a business partner — whoever you’ve designated on your policy). Why do you need life insurance? Buying life insurance is one of the most unselfish things you can do. You...
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Why you Need Life Insurance When Buying a Home It’s said that buying a house is one of the most stressful life events, and if you’ve recently entered the property market, you’re probably vigorously nodding your head. It’s said that buying a house is one of the most stressful life events, and if you’ve recently entered the property market, you’re probably vigorously nodding your head. Other than the dodgy seller and the ruthless agent, there’s another potential obstacle to your white-picket-fence of homeowner bliss that’s lurking in the neighbourhood. It may surprise you to learn that, if you have a home loan and something bad happens to you, you could lose your home. If you can no longer...
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How to Find a Lost Life Insurance Policy When you think about a loved one dying, it’s hard to imagine anything worse. Now imagine that loved one had a life insurance policy and named you as the beneficiary – but you never knew about it and the benefit is left unclaimed. It may be hard to believe, but in reality, life insurance payouts sometimes go unclaimed because of a lack of communication between the policy owner and their beneficiary. If one of your loved ones has died and you’re wondering whether there was a life insurance policy in place, there are solutions for finding a lost life insurance policy, according to the Insurance Information Institute.1 The Institute suggests: Looking for...
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MORE THAN $665 MILLION IN UNCLAIMED LIFE INSURANCE BENEFITS PAID TO DATE AS A RESULT OF STATE INVESTIGATION An investigation started by the Department of Financial Services in July 2011 has resulted in more than $665 million being paid to life insurance beneficiaries who were unaware that they were entitled to money from insurance companies. Before DFS put in place new regulations in 2012, insurance companies did not regularly seek out beneficiaries to pay death benefits, but instead waited for someone to make a claim. However, a significant number of people are not aware that they are named on a life insurance policy by a relative and so do not make a claim. In July 2011 DFS began an...
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It’s estimated that $1 billion in benefits from forgotten and lost life insurance policies are sitting unclaimed in America, says Consumer Reports. Could you be among the estimated 1 in 600 people who may be the beneficiary of an unclaimed life insurance policy? If so, there are ways to find out. Here are some tips to help. 5 WAYS TO LOCATE A LOST LIFE INSURANCE POLICY Comb the house. Sometimes the thing we’re missing is right under our nose. First, go through any files or safe deposit boxes where the lost life insurance policy may be before launching a full-fledged investigation. Think back to the beginning. Which insurance agent may have sold it? Which insurance company may have issued it...
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