I just lost a close relative – is there anyway to find out if they had Life Insurance?

While there is no central agency that keeps such records- if a relative dies and no one in the family knows if they had life insurance – here are some ways you may be able to find out.

• Try to find canceled checks made out for life insurance premiums, or contact your deceased relative's bank for copies of old checks.
• Go through credit card statements. Your relative may have used credit cards to pay his or her life insurance premiums.
• You can check with probate court records for details of your relative's estate. A life insurance policy could show up as an asset, if his or her estate had to go through probate.
• Contact past employers to see if there may have been employee group life insurance.
• Check with your relative's other insurance agents or companies such as auto or home insurance agents, they may have sold him or her a life insurance policy as well. An insurance agent may also be able to query the main office of the company to determine if there is a policy on file for your relative. They may not be at liberty to divulge the details to you if a life insurance policy is discovered, but you will know that the policy is there. Then you can make an official request to release the info pursuant to HIPAA regulations.