You took out life insurance for a reason.
Perhaps it was to help pay off the mortgage, give your partner some financial security, support your children or simply make sure your family would have some money available if the worst happened.
But there is an important question that is surprisingly easy to overlook:
Would your family actually know that your life insurance policy exists?
A life insurance policy can only help the people you care about if, when the time comes, they know there is a policy and have enough information to start making a claim.
If your life insurance policy documents are buried in an old filing cabinet, stored in an email account nobody can access or held with an insurer whose name your family does not know, finding that policy could become another difficult job at an already stressful time.
The Association of British Insurers advises people trying to trace an unknown life insurance policy to look through bank or credit card statements for payments that might identify the insurer. It also points people towards tracing services where the insurer is unknown.
There is a much simpler solution.
Make sure the people you trust know what life insurance policies you have and where the important information can be found.
That is what this life insurance policy checklist is designed to help you do.
Why finding a life insurance policy matters
Life insurance is designed to provide financial support following the death of the person covered. Depending on the type and level of cover, this can involve a lump sum or regular payments.
That money could make an enormous difference to a family.
It might help with:
- • A mortgage
- • Household bills
- • Childcare
- • Education costs
- • Funeral expenses
- • Outstanding financial commitments
- • Giving a surviving partner some financial security
Yet the existence of a life insurance policy is not always obvious to other members of the family.
You may know exactly which company provides your life insurance, how much cover you have and where your policy documents are kept.
Your partner, children or executor might not.
Years can pass between taking out an insurance policy and the point at which it is needed. You may change bank accounts, move house, change email address or switch financial advisers.
Documents get moved.
Emails get deleted.
Providers change names.
And details that seem obvious to you today may be completely unknown to somebody trying to deal with your affairs in the future.
Could a life insurance policy become lost?
The policy itself does not necessarily disappear simply because your paperwork cannot be found.
The real problem is that the people you leave behind may not know that the life insurance policy exists, who the insurer is or where to begin looking.
If the insurer is unknown, the ABI suggests checking old policy documents and financial statements and using tracing services to help identify missing policies.
Imagine your family having to search through years of bank statements trying to identify an unfamiliar monthly payment.
Or opening drawers and folders looking for a document they are not even certain exists.
That is the problem we want to avoid.
Your family should not have to become detectives at the very moment they are grieving.
Life Insurance Policy Checklist
If you currently have one or more life insurance policies, take a few minutes to work through this checklist.
1. Record the name of your life insurance provider
Start with the most obvious piece of information:
Who is your life insurance policy with?
Record the full name of the insurer.
If you have several life insurance policies, list each insurer separately.
Do not assume your family will recognise an insurance company from a payment appearing on a bank statement.
Give them a clear record.
2. Record your life insurance policy number
Your life insurance policy number can make it much easier for an insurer to identify the correct policy.
Keep this information alongside the name of the provider rather than leaving your family to search through paperwork.
For each insurance policy, record:
- • Insurance provider
- • Policy number
- • Name of the person insured
- • Type of cover
- • Approximate date the policy started
You do not necessarily need to give everybody immediate access to this information.
What matters is that the appropriate person can obtain it when it is needed.
3. Keep a copy of the life insurance policy documents
If possible, retain a current copy of your life insurance policy documentation.
Older paper documents can easily be damaged, misplaced or accidentally thrown away.
Keeping a secure digital copy alongside your other important information gives your family another way of locating it.
If you receive policy documents electronically, consider saving a copy rather than relying solely on being able to access an old email account years later.
4. Record what each insurance policy is intended to cover
You might know exactly why you bought your life insurance.
Your family may not.
For example, you might have taken out a policy to:
- • Cover the mortgage
- • Protect your partner
- • Provide for your children
- • Cover a business commitment
- • Provide additional family protection
A simple note explaining why the insurance policy exists can give your family useful context.
This is particularly important if you have more than one life insurance policy.
5. Record approximately how much cover you have
If appropriate, keep a record of the level of cover associated with the policy.
Policy values and terms can differ, so the insurer’s documentation should always be treated as the authoritative record.
However, an approximate figure can help your family understand the importance of locating and dealing with the policy.
6. Check who should receive the life insurance proceeds
Do not simply assume your family understands how your life insurance proceeds would be dealt with.
The position can depend on how the policy has been arranged, including whether a beneficiary has been nominated or whether the policy forms part of the estate.
MoneyHelper notes that the treatment of life insurance proceeds can differ depending on the terms of the policy and how it has been set up.
If you are uncertain about how your own policy works, contact your insurer or seek appropriate professional advice.
7. Record whether the life insurance policy is held in trust
Some people have a life insurance trust associated with their policy.
If that applies to you, make sure the relevant information and trust documentation can be located.
Do not assume your family knows that a trust exists or who the trustees are.
Consider keeping:
- • Details of the life insurance policy
- • The relevant trust documentation
- • Trustee contact information
- • Details of the insurer
- • Details of any adviser who helped establish the arrangement
Trust and tax arrangements can be complex, so professional advice may be required if you are unsure about the structure of your policy.
8. Record the insurer’s contact information
Make it easy for your family to take the next step.
Keep the insurer’s name and current contact details alongside the policy information.
Websites and telephone numbers can change over the years, so review this information periodically.
Even if a particular telephone number eventually changes, knowing the correct insurer and policy number gives your family a much better starting point.
9. Tell somebody you trust that the policy exists
This may be the most important step on the entire life insurance policy checklist.
Somebody needs to know that the information exists.
You do not necessarily need to discuss every financial detail with them today.
But your partner, executor or another trusted person should know that you have organised the relevant information and know how it can be accessed when appropriate.
A perfectly organised insurance policy is not much help if nobody knows where you have organised it.
10. Review your life insurance policies regularly
Life changes.
Your insurance arrangements may need to change with it.
You might:
- • Move house
- • Pay off your mortgage
- • Get married
- • Separate or divorce
- • Have children
- • Start a business
- • Change jobs
- • Take out another insurance policy
- • Replace an existing policy
- • Change your financial adviser
Whenever something significant changes, review the information you have recorded.
If an old life insurance policy has ended or been replaced, update your records so your family is not trying to trace something that is no longer active.
What happens if your family cannot find your life insurance policy?
If somebody dies and their family believes a life insurance policy exists but cannot find the documents, there are steps they can take.
The ABI recommends looking at bank and credit card statements for direct debits or standing orders that could identify an insurer. Where the name of the insurance company is unknown, the ABI also directs consumers to an online tracing service.
That can help.
But consider the difference between these two situations.
Situation one:
Your family knows you had life insurance but has no idea who provided it.
They begin searching old paperwork, emails, bank statements and financial records trying to find a clue.
Situation two:
Your family knows that you have a life insurance policy, knows where the details have been securely recorded and can quickly identify the provider and policy information.
Which situation would you rather leave them with?
Do not rely on your email inbox
An increasing amount of financial information now exists only electronically.
That is convenient while you are alive and have access to your devices.
It can be considerably less convenient for somebody dealing with your affairs after your death.
Your life insurance policy might be sitting inside an email inbox protected by a password that nobody knows.
Two-factor authentication could require access to your mobile phone.
The email account itself might eventually be closed.
Rather than assuming somebody will be able to search through your emails, save important policy information somewhere specifically intended to be found by the right people.
Do not rely on your bank statement either
A recurring payment might give your family a clue that an insurance policy exists.
But it is not a substitute for proper records.
Some policies may have been paid differently, premiums may have ended or the description appearing on a bank statement may not clearly identify what the payment relates to.
Bank statements can be useful when tracing a lost policy, as the ABI recommends, but ideally your family should never need to rely on detective work in the first place.
What life insurance information should you keep together?
As a minimum, consider recording:
- • Name of the life insurance company
- • Life insurance policy number
- • Name of the person covered
- • Type of insurance policy
- • Policy start date
- • Level of cover, where appropriate
- • Policy documentation
- • Beneficiary information where applicable
- • Trust documentation where applicable
- • Trustee information
- • Insurer contact details
- • Financial adviser details
- • A brief explanation of why the policy was taken out
If you have several life insurance policies, create a separate record for each one.
The objective is simple:
Make it immediately clear that the policy exists and give your family enough information to know where to go next.
Keep your life insurance policy information organised with LegacyHub
This is exactly the type of information that LegacyHub was created to help families organise.
LegacyHub provides a secure digital vault where you can keep important files, wishes, memories and other information together and choose someone you trust to access your legacy when appropriate.
Rather than leaving your family with a collection of folders, old emails and unidentified direct debits, you can create a clear record of the information they may eventually need.
Your LegacyHub could include information about:
- • Life insurance policies
- • Insurance policy documents
- • Pension providers
- • Mortgage information
- • Property
- • Investments
- • Your will
- • Solicitors
- • Financial advisers
- • Important wishes and instructions
You remain in control of the information while giving the appropriate people a clear route to it when they need it. LegacyHub describes its service as a secure digital vault where users can add important files and choose someone they trust to access their legacy.
You bought life insurance to protect your family. Make sure they can find it.
Taking out life insurance is an act of preparation.
You are putting something in place today because you want the people you care about to have greater financial protection in the future.
But buying the policy should not be the final step.
Make sure your family knows it exists.
Make sure they know who the insurer is.
Make sure the life insurance policy number can be found.
Make sure important insurance policy documents are safely stored.
And if you have several life insurance policies, make sure there is one clear record showing what they are.
Because the last thing you want is to spend years paying for life insurance intended to protect your family, only to leave them unaware that the policy exists.
A few minutes of organisation today could save hours of searching and uncertainty later.
Start organising your important life insurance information in LegacyHub today, so the people you love know exactly where to look when it matters most.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can my family find a lost life insurance policy?
If the insurer is unknown, the Association of British Insurers recommends checking the person’s bank and credit card statements for payments that could identify an insurance provider. It also points consumers towards a tracing service for policies where the company is not known.
What information should I keep about my life insurance policy?
Consider recording the insurer’s name, policy number, type of policy, relevant policy documents, contact information and details of any trust or adviser associated with the policy.
Should I tell my family about my life insurance?
It is sensible to ensure an appropriate trusted person knows that a life insurance policy exists and knows where the relevant information can be found. This does not mean you need to share every financial detail with everyone.
Can I have more than one life insurance policy?
People can have different insurance arrangements for different purposes. If you have several life insurance policies, keeping a separate record of each policy can make your overall arrangements much easier for your family to understand.
What is a life insurance trust?
A life insurance policy can sometimes be placed into trust. The precise legal, tax and beneficiary implications depend on how the arrangement is structured, so you should speak to the insurer or obtain appropriate professional advice if you are unsure about your policy.
Why should I store my insurance policy information somewhere other than my email?
Your family may not have access to your email account, passwords or devices after your death. Keeping important life insurance information somewhere specifically designed to be accessible by an appropriate trusted person can reduce the risk of the policy being overlooked.
This article is for general information only and does not constitute financial, tax, insurance or legal advice. Individual life insurance policies and trust arrangements vary. If you are unsure about your cover, beneficiaries or how a policy is structured, contact your insurer or seek appropriate professional advice.
