Insurance Department will help find Delawareans' missing life insurance policies

For Delawareans who believe a deceased loved one has a life insurance policy that they cannot find, the Delaware Department of Insurance can help them try to locate it.

Commissioner Karen Weldin Stewart announced that the department now provides Delaware residents and their families with a free search service that can help locate missing life insurance policies or annuity contracts left behind by loved ones who have passed away.

"I'm happy that the department has set up this new service to help Delawareans locate lost insurance policies that were purchased in our state," said Stewart. "Our search will enable eligible persons to contact every life and annuity insurer licensed in Delaware in order to look for a lost policy or contract. I'm always fighting for consumers, and this new service should help many of them find the benefits to which they are entitled."

The service works like this: An executor, beneficiary or legal representative of a deceased resident or former resident of Delaware may file a search request with the Department of Insurance. To submit a request, go to www.delawareinsurance.gov/services/missingpolicy.shtml and print the Missing Life Insurance/Annuity Search Request Form.

The form should be filled out, then signed before a notary public. A copy of the decedent's certified death certificate must be attached. The documents must be placed in an envelope marked "Confidential" and mailed to the address printed on the form.

The Department of Insurance does not guarantee that every requested policy will be found. Upon receipt of the request form, the department will send the search request and any attachments to all Delaware-licensed life insurance companies for review. An insurance company must process a policy and/or contract if they have information about a life insurance policy or annuity contract on the deceased person's life. The insurance company will contact the requestor directly if money is to be paid to them.

For more information, call the Consumers Division at 1-800-282-8611.