How to Find the Beneficiaries of a Personal Life Insurance Policy
Life insurance policies are financial contracts which transfer the financial risks associated with your death away from you and onto a financial institution called a life insurance company. Your life insurance policy's death benefit is given to an individual, called a beneficiary, when you die. This beneficiary is normally a spouse or a child, but may be anyone whom you want to receive the proceeds of the policy at your death. If you can't remember who is named as the beneficiary on the policy, you'll need to know how to locate them.
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Instructions
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Locate your life insurance policy. Your life insurance policy has a contract number that you may need to reference when you call the insurance company. Your life insurance policy contract will look like a booklet. Some insurers put this contract into a protective plastic sleeve, while other insurance companies bind it similar to a booklet. Your policy's contract may be kept in a safe deposit box or a personal safe in your home. You'll need this in order to locate your beneficiaries.
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Check the policy application copy. The last section of your contract normally contains a copy of the insurance application. This copy lists the original beneficiary designations. If you've never changed the beneficiary designations, these will be your beneficiaries. The beneficiaries may be listed on the very last page of the application, but this depends entirely on the issuing insurance company.
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Contact the life insurer. You may need to contact your insurance company if you suspect the copy of the application does not contain the correct beneficiary designations. The insurance company will have the most up to date beneficiary designations. You'll need to give the insurer your policy number and verify your identity before the insurer can release information over the phone. When you have the beneficiary designations, write them down or make any changes if necessary while you are on the phone. Your insurer may request that you sign a change of beneficiary form. They will mail the form to you to sign and then return.
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