by shooz » Mon Mar 09, 2009 11:51 pm
Insurance company wrote and said my mother had a life insurance policy. SHe died 13 years ago and I did not find any policy. My dad is also gone and I am only child. THe insurance company called because they said my mom would have been 100 years and they always try to find family at that age. They managed to find me even after I remarried. Now they want to see her death certificate and fill out lots of paperwork but will not tell me if I am the beneficiary. If I am not the beneficiary, I sure dont want to do all that paperwork for nothing. Why won't they tell me anything?
Posted: Wed Mar 11, 2009 10:57 am Post Subject: insurance
I'm sorry..I misunderstood. Ok..they wrote you a letter. I'm just curious where they got your name, address, etc....if your name WAS in their file, why are they waiting until now to contact you? Also....why are they 'holding out' the information that you are/are not the Beneficiary? I would call an attorney and ask their advice on this.
Posted: Wed Mar 11, 2009 11:36 am Post Subject:
sdchargersfan,
The insurance company does not have any obligation to get hold of the beneficiary when the insured person dies. The only reason that the OP got contacted was due to the fact that the insured (his mother) turned 100 which is around the mortality table. The Insurance company does not know the difference if the insured stopped paying the premiums because they have passed away or because they no longer want the policy anymore. The only way the insurance company could check is by calling every beneficiary when the premiums stop being paid. And of course they will not do this. Only when the insured turns 100 will they make an attempt to call the beneficiary. This is why they waited so long.
Michael
Posted: Wed Mar 11, 2009 05:21 pm Post Subject:
You are right, Michael. They said they check on people when they reach 100 or more. When I asked them how they got my married name and address they said they have research dept. There are no more secrets, are there? ANyway, customer service told me that since I was conatacted, I was probably the beneficiary. THat is all they would say. I guess I have to take their word for how much the policies were for, too. My mother died 13 years ago at age 88. This is like her final gift to me. Very emotional. We never get over losing them. Thank you for all your answers.
Posted: Wed Mar 11, 2009 06:09 pm Post Subject:
Shooz,
You could possibly ask for a copy of the policy. They might give you a copy and then you would know how much it was for. Just a suggestion. Good luck with it all, and yes... you never get over it......
Michael
Posted: Thu Mar 12, 2009 03:36 am Post Subject:
If there was a policy, it is long gone, sdchargersfan. My mom had dementia in her later years. THere were insurance policies for my dad when he died, but as I recall, nothing for her. She did some weird things after his death and threw lots of stuff away before I could relocate her near to me. I have sent the claim forms off today via Registered Mail and will let you know what happens. It took me over 20 minutes of automated menus to finally reach a real person at Met Life. Very annoying.
Posted: Thu Mar 12, 2009 03:40 am Post Subject: insurance
I bet you feel overwhelmed and frustrated, SHOOZE. Yeah...PLEASE update me on your situation. Metlife?..had them at one time. Wasn't too satisfied with them.
Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2009 05:16 pm Post Subject: the insurance company called.....
Well, I sent Met Life a certified copy of my moms death certificate by certified mail and got the signature card back a couple of days ago. I will give them another week and then call them. Otherwise, there is nothing else going on with this.,
Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2009 10:41 pm Post Subject:
It sounds as if your mother had a policy that went to age 100. At age 100, all insureds are presumed to be dead and the death benefit gets paid. Since the policy didn't lapse even with nobody paying the premium, it was a policy that was either paid up at a younger age or had enough cash to support the premium.
I'm not 100% certain, but what I believe will happen is that you will get the death benefit as of her death at age 88 since this is when the claim should have been paid. Additionally, you should get 12 years worth of interest on that money. The death benefit will be tax free. The interest will be taxable. Can someone please confirm or refute my understanding?
Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2011 09:11 am Post Subject:
Whatever happened with this? I just got a similar letter in the mail last week and mt mom died over 7 years ago.
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