Life insurance in Maine

How your policy is protected if an insurer fails

If a life or health insurer licensed in Maine is found insolvent and ordered liquidated, the Maine Life & Health Insurance Guaranty Association continues coverage for Maine residents, either directly or, more often, by transferring policies to a healthy insurer. Keep paying your premiums while that happens; the guaranty association can only continue coverage that stays in force.

Limits are as of October 4, 2026, from the association's FAQ and 24-A M.R.S. §4603. The annuity limit applies per owner across all annuities with the same failed company: three $250,000 annuities would be covered for $250,000 in total, and the rest would become a claim against the insurer's estate. Structured settlement payees, and participants in governmental retirement plans under sections 401, 403(b) or 457 of the tax code, are each covered up to $250,000 in present value. One owner of several non-group life policies, such as a business that insures its executives, is capped at $5 million.

The association is a private entity created by the legislature; its members are the life and health insurers licensed in Maine, and it is not a state agency. It is a safety net, not a substitute for choosing a well-managed, financially stable insurer. Maine law prohibits agents and companies from using the association in advertising or as a reason to buy a policy. Read more in state life and health guaranty associations and what happens if your life insurance company fails.

Who regulates life insurance in Maine

The Maine Bureau of Insurance, part of the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation, licenses insurers and producers, reviews policy forms, monitors company solvency and handles consumer complaints and disputes. Call 800-300-5000 (207-624-8475) to check whether a company is licensed in Maine. Its offices are at 76 Northern Avenue in Gardiner, but mail sent by the U.S. Postal Service must go to 34 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333-0034.

Free look, grace periods and policy rules

• Free look: every individual life policy must let you return it within 10 days of delivery for a refund of the premium if you are not satisfied for any reason; a returned policy is void from the beginning (24-A M.R.S. §2515-A). See the free-look period: returning a policy for a refund.
• Grace period: you get 30 days, or one month of at least 30 days, to pay any premium after the first while the policy stays in force. The insurer may charge interest of up to 6% a year for the days of grace used, and if the insured dies during the grace period the overdue premium can be deducted from the benefit (24-A M.R.S. §2505).
• Paying claims: an individual life policy must provide for settlement on receipt of due proof of death, and any waiting period the insurer specifies cannot exceed two months from receipt of those proofs (24-A M.R.S. §2513). Once a claim that is not disputed in writing becomes overdue, it bears interest at 1.5% a month (24-A M.R.S. §2436).

Taxes, estates and community property

Maine has an estate tax but no inheritance tax. For people who die in 2026, the exclusion amount is $7,160,000, and the portion of the taxable estate above it is taxed at graduated rates of 8%, 10% and 12%, according to Maine Revenue Services. That is far below the federal exemption, so a paid-off house, retirement accounts and a large policy you own can together create a Maine estate tax bill even when no federal tax is due. Policies you own, or that pay to your estate, generally count toward the taxable estate; an irrevocable life insurance trust is the usual way to keep them out. See state estate and inheritance taxes and life insurance and talk to an estate attorney before restructuring ownership.

Maine is not a community property state.

Finding a lost policy or unclaimed benefits

Look through the person's mail, bank statements and tax returns for premium payments or 1099 forms, ask former employers about group coverage, and submit a free search through the NAIC Life Insurance Policy Locator. Money an insurer cannot deliver is eventually turned over to the state. The Office of the Maine State Treasurer lets you search its unclaimed property list and file a claim online for free at maineunclaimedproperty.gov. If the insured lived or worked in New Hampshire or elsewhere, check those states too. See how to find a lost life insurance policy and unclaimed life insurance money and state unclaimed property.

Life insurers based in Maine

Unum traces its roots to Union Mutual Life Insurance Company, a Maine company founded in 1848 that moved its home office to Portland in 1881. Unum Group is now headquartered in Chattanooga, Tennessee, but it still has a large operation in Portland. Unum is best known for disability and workplace benefits, including group life coverage.

Where to get help

• Maine Bureau of Insurance: 800-300-5000, maine.gov/pfr/insurance, 34 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333-0034. Use its complaint and dispute page, which has a separate life and health complaint form. Our guide to how to file a complaint against a life insurer explains what to include.
• Maine Life & Health Insurance Guaranty Association: 207-633-1090, melifega.org, P.O. Box 148, South China, ME 04358.
• Unclaimed property: the Office of the Maine State Treasurer at maineunclaimedproperty.gov, 888-283-2808 in Maine.