How to Check on a Life Insurance Policy Number

It's useful to have access to your insurance policy number.

Life insurance customers often find that they need their policy numbers when it's time to pay a bill, when a claim occurs, or when providing insurance information to third parties. Finding your life insurance policy number is fairly easy if you're prepared and persistent. While it is likely that you have the policy number in your personal files, you may have to contact the insurance company or your insurance agent to obtain the information you need.

Things You'll Need

• Life insurance policy declarations
• Name and telephone number of your insurance agent
• Name and telephone number of your insurance company

Instructions

1. Locate your life insurance policy declarations. Your policy declarations (also known as declarations pages) are issued when you purchase or renew your insurance policy, when changes are made to an insurance policy and when canceled policies are reinstated. Your policy declarations will list the names of the primary insured parties, the effective and expiration dates of your policy, the limits of coverage, any applicable deductibles and names of your beneficiaries. These documents will show your life insurance policy number in a prominent place on the first page of the package.

2. Call your life insurance agent. The agent will have access to your insurance company's computer files, and will use your name, address, and possibly your Social Security number to find your information in the computer system. When you contact your agent, ask them to provide a current copy of your life insurance policy declarations.

3. Call your insurance company's home office. Many customers insure directly with a life insurance company instead of contacting an insurance agent. If you purchased your life insurance policy directly from a telephone sales representative, you may have to contact your insurance company's customer service department to have your inquiries answered. You can also contact customer service when your insurance agent is unavailable. When you call, provide your name, address, and possibly your Social Security number and the phone representative will search for your information in their computer system.

4. Remember that most insurance companies won't provide you with the policy number for a policy that isn't in your name. This also applies to spouses who aren't on the insurance policy, but wish to conduct research on their significant other's behalf. The insurance company may make an exception to this rule if the policyholder is deceased, but such requests are considered on a case-by-case basis.

Tips & Warnings

• Ask your agent or insurance company to provide you with new life insurance policy declarations. These documents will show your policy number and other important details about your insurance policy.

• Due to privacy concerns, most insurance companies won't provide their customers' policy numbers to third parties without the policyholder's consent.

• Never provide your Social Security number to a person you can't trust. For maximum security, provide this information to your agent in person if possible.

References

• Cigna Group Insurance Privacy Notice