How to file a life insurance claim

To file a life insurance claim, each named beneficiary contacts the insurance company (or, for coverage through work, the employer's benefits office), completes the insurer's claim form and sends it in with a certified copy of the death certificate. Filing is free, and a routine claim rarely needs a lawyer. Once the insurer has complete paperwork and confirms the policy was in force, it pays the beneficiaries directly, outside the will and probate.

If the death was recent, this can wait a few days while you handle more urgent things. An individual life policy generally has no short filing window, and several states require the insurer to add interest when payment comes later. The exception is accidental death coverage, which sometimes sets notice deadlines in days, so check those policies sooner.

Who files the claim

• A named beneficiary. Each adult beneficiary usually completes their own claim form for their share. If three siblings are named, expect three forms.
• A trust. The trustee files on the trust's behalf and provides trust paperwork.
• The estate. If the estate is named, or no named beneficiary is alive, the executor or court-appointed administrator files. That money then goes through probate.
• A minor child. Insurers will not pay a child directly. A court-appointed guardian or a custodian usually collects the money; see how life insurance is paid to a minor.

You do not need to wait for the will to be probated, and the funeral home, a lawyer or a "claims service" cannot collect the money for you unless you sign something allowing it.

Step by step

1. Find every policy. Look through files, email, and bank or card statements for premium payments to an insurer. Ask the person's employer about group life and accidental death coverage, and check unions, professional associations, credit cards, mortgages and loans. Military and federal employees may have SGLI, VGLI or FEGLI coverage. If you suspect a policy you cannot find, the NAIC's free Life Insurance Policy Locator asks participating insurers to search their records; our lost life insurance policy finder walks through every place to look, and how to find a lost life insurance policy covers the process in detail.
2. Order several certified copies of the death certificate. The funeral home usually orders them from the state or county vital records office. Each insurer generally wants its own certified death certificate, and banks and retirement plans may too. If your state issues versions with and without the cause of death, life insurers usually need the one that shows it.
3. Call or log in to the insurer's claims department. Use the phone number or website printed on the policy or on the insurer's own site, never one from an unexpected call, text or email. Have ready the insured's full name, date of birth, Social Security number, date and place of death, the policy number if you have it, and your own contact details. Many insurers let you start a claim online, and the agent who sold the policy can help.
4. Fill out the claimant's statement. This is the insurer's claim form. It asks how you are related to the insured, for your Social Security or taxpayer number (any interest paid on the claim is reported to the IRS), how you want to be paid and basic facts about the death. Answer what you know and write "unknown" where you do not. Our guide to documents you need for a life insurance claim lists the extra paperwork some claims need.
5. Choose how to receive the money. Most beneficiaries take a lump sum, but forms may also offer installments, lifetime income or an interest-bearing account the insurer keeps (a retained asset account). If you want a check or direct deposit, mark it clearly. life insurance payout options: lump sum, installments and annuities compares the choices.
6. Send the packet and keep copies. Upload documents or mail them with tracking. Write down the claim number, the date you sent everything and the name of the claims examiner.
7. Follow up until it is paid. Ask what, if anything, is outstanding. If the death happened within the first two years of the policy, expect the insurer to request medical records during the the two-year contestability period; that is routine and not an accusation.
8. Check the payment. The death benefit itself is generally not taxable income, but interest added to it is, and the insurer reports that interest on Form 1099-INT, according to the IRS.

Our printable life insurance claim checklist tracks each of these steps, policy by policy.

What the insurer does after you file

The claims examiner confirms that the policy was in force on the date of death, identifies the beneficiaries on file, and checks the cause of death against the policy's exclusions. If the death was within the contestability period, they also compare the application with medical records.

There is no single national deadline for this review, but state rules set clocks. The NAIC's model regulation for life and health claims, a template states may adopt in whole or in part, says the insurer should send claim forms within 15 days of being notified, explain in writing if a claim is still unresolved 30 days after proof of loss, and give the reasons for any denial in writing, citing the policy provision it relies on. Typical timelines and what slows them down are covered in how long life insurance takes to pay out.

Situations that change the process

Other benefits to claim at the same time

While you are gathering documents, it is efficient to check for other money owed after a death: employer group life and accidental death coverage, a final paycheck and accrued vacation, retirement accounts and pensions with their own beneficiary forms, credit card or travel accident coverage, credit life insurance on a loan, and veterans' or workers' compensation death benefits. A surviving spouse or child may also qualify for Social Security survivor benefits and the one-time $255 lump-sum death payment.

Protect yourself while the claim is open

• No legitimate insurer charges a fee to process a death claim. Be wary of anyone who offers to "find" or "speed up" a benefit for a percentage.
• Do not give policy or bank details to callers who contact you first; call the insurer back at a number you looked up yourself.
• Keep every letter. If the insurer stops responding or misses its own deadlines, your state insurance department accepts complaints at no cost.

Key takeaways

• Each beneficiary files directly with the insurer: a claim form plus a certified death certificate covers most claims.
• Search widely for coverage, including employers, associations, credit cards and the NAIC Policy Locator, before you assume there is only one policy.
• Choose your payout deliberately; ask for a check or direct deposit if you do not want the insurer to hold the money.
• Deaths in the first two years, accidental death benefits and unclear causes of death take longer; keep copies and a claim number.
• The death benefit is generally income-tax-free, but interest added to it is taxable.