Glossary

Death Master File

The Social Security Administration's database of reported deaths, which insurers check to find deceased policyholders and unpaid benefits.

Also called: DMF, Social Security Death Master File, Social Security Death Index, SSDI

The Death Master File is a database of deaths reported to the Social Security Administration, with each person's name, Social Security number, birth date and death date. The public version, distributed by the Commerce Department's National Technical Information Service (NTIS), leaves out some deaths reported by states. Genealogists know it as the Social Security Death Index.

Life insurers began routinely checking policyholders against the file after state investigations and multistate settlements in the early 2010s found that some companies used it to stop annuity payments to people who had died but not to find beneficiaries of life policies. Many states have since passed unclaimed life insurance benefits laws requiring insurers to compare in-force policies with the file regularly and search for beneficiaries. Hypothetical example: an insurer's quarterly match flags a policyholder who died two years ago; it must try to locate the beneficiary and, if it cannot, eventually turn the money over to the state as unclaimed property.

Under the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013, NTIS releases records less than three years old only to certified users with a fraud-prevention or legitimate business purpose. Families should still notify insurers directly. See Death Master File checks and the unclaimed benefits settlements and unclaimed life insurance money and state unclaimed property.

Last reviewed October 4, 2026

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Related terms

Unclaimed property Money, including unpaid life insurance benefits, that a company couldn't deliver to its owner and must turn over to a state to hold until claimed. Escheatment The legal process by which money owed but unclaimed, including unpaid life insurance proceeds, is turned over to a state after a dormancy period. Death certificate The official government record of a person's death, listing the date, place and cause; insurers need a certified copy to process a claim. Beneficiary The person, trust, charity or estate named to receive a life insurance death benefit or an annuity's remaining value when the insured or owner dies. Proof of death The documents a life insurer requires before paying a claim, usually a certified death certificate plus a completed claimant's statement.

Related guides

Death Master File checks and the unclaimed benefits settlements How multistate settlements pushed life insurers to check the Social Security Death Master File and search for beneficiaries, and what that means for you. Faked deaths and life insurance fraud How faked-death insurance schemes work, how insurers and investigators catch them, the charges involved and what honest families should know. How to find a lost life insurance policy Where to look when a relative may have had life insurance no one can find: papers, employers, the NAIC locator, state unclaimed property and insurers. Life insurance fraud: what it is and how it's caught The main kinds of life insurance fraud, how insurers and regulators detect them, what the penalties are, and how an honest mistake differs from fraud. Market conduct exams: how regulators audit life insurers and issue fines What a market conduct exam covers, how MCAS data and multistate exams work, and documented fines on life insurers in Pennsylvania and Connecticut. Unclaimed life insurance money and state unclaimed property How life insurance proceeds end up in state unclaimed property programs, how to search for them for free, how to claim them and how to avoid finder scams.

Related tools

Lost life insurance policy finder A step-by-step search for a policy a relative may have left, with your state's unclaimed property link and regulator contact.