Question
When my father passed in 1999, we knew of a small policy he had which was enough to cover the funeral. About 6 months later I was going through mail he continued to get (we moved mom out immediately) and came across a statement from a different insurance company. After calling them, then informed us he did indeed have a policy with them worth 15K. Not one of us knew about it. They helped me make the claim on behalf of my mother and she received her check. I suspect this happens a lot and some people are not lucky enough to run across a letter. Are ins. company obligated to verify their customers' status once in awhile or is there a central place to search names on policies? I doubt he has another one, but I'm wondering how many beneficiaries don't don't receive payment simply because they weren't aware of a policy and never processed it.
Answer
If it's a paid up policy, I don't know of any regular correspondence. If there is a payment due (monthly, annually, etc) then bills will be sent to the policyholder. If payment is not received, cash value is used to keep it going as long as possible.
I informed a funeral home of a policy that a decedent had with my company and was told that he (funeral home owner) was not told this by the family--family paid cash for his burial. It was suggested that I tell the wife (widow). I told her, and she only said 'thank you'. Later found out that both his wife and girlfriend were at the funeral.
If the girlfriend were the beneficiary and didn't have the particulars (name of insurance company, policy number) then it's doubtful that she got a dime.