How to file a life insurance claim and find a lost policy

General information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Last reviewed Oct 31, 2026.

Quick answerContact the insurer with the policy number and a certified death certificate and ask for its claim form. If you don’t know whether there was a policy, use the free NAIC Life Insurance Policy Locator. Death benefits are generally not taxable income, though interest paid on them can be. All five of our pilot states make insurers pay interest on death benefits in some situations, and Texas and Ohio set a two-month deadline to settle after proof of death.

Step by step

Look for the policy: papers, bank statements showing premium payments, employer benefits, and mail from insurers.
Search the NAIC locator if you can’t find one (below).
Call the insurer and ask for a claim packet. Have the policy number, the person’s Social Security number and a certified death certificate.
Choose lump sum or another payout. Your choice can affect taxes and whether interest rules apply.
Keep copies and note the date the insurer received your proof of death.
If the claim stalls, contact your state insurance department.

Finding a lost policy

The NAIC Life Insurance Policy Locator is free. You submit the person’s legal name, birth and death dates and Social Security number (or ITIN), and your relationship to them.
If a participating company finds a policy and you’re the beneficiary or legally authorized, the company contacts you. Not every insurer participates, so “no match” doesn’t prove there’s no policy.
Request a search at eapps.naic.org/life-policy-locator.

How the locator works, information needed, participating companies. Source: Hawaii Insurance Division – Life Insurance Policy Locator (Sept. 2026), checked Oct 31, 2026.

TaxesFederal law

Life insurance proceeds paid because of the insured’s death generally aren’t taxable, unless the policy was transferred to you for a price or acquired in a reportable policy sale. Interest you receive on the proceeds may be taxable. If you take installments, part of each payment is excluded and the rest is taxed as interest.

Death proceeds generally not taxable; interest and installments. Source: IRS Publication 525, checked Oct 31, 2026.

Interest and deadlines in our pilot statesState law

State	Rule
New Hampshire	Interest runs from the date of death at the insurer’s rate for funds left on deposit (or the two-year Treasury rate). An extra 10% a year is added starting 31 days after the insurer gets proof of death or enough information to pay, whichever is later. If not paid within 30 days of death, the insurer must tell beneficiaries interest will be paid.
California	If the insurer doesn’t pay within 30 days after the death, it owes interest from the date of death, at least its current rate on proceeds left on deposit, and must notify the beneficiary of the rate. Doesn’t apply if the beneficiary chooses a non-lump-sum payout.
Texas	Policies must provide for settlement within 2 months after the insurer receives proof of death and of the claimant’s right to the money. Interest runs from receipt of due proof of loss until the insurer accepts the claim and offers to pay.
Florida	A lump-sum payout must include interest from the date the insurer receives written proof of death, at a rate at least equal to Moody’s Corporate Bond Yield Average for that day.
Ohio	Policies must provide for settlement on receipt of proof of death or within 2 months after. For an Ohio resident and a lump-sum election, interest runs from the date of death at the greater of the short-term federal rate for the month of death or the insurer’s rate on proceeds left on deposit.

Interest from date of death, extra 10%, 30-day notice. Source: RSA 408:11, checked Oct 31, 2026.
30 days, interest from death, notice, lump-sum condition. Source: Cal. Ins. Code § 10172.5, checked Oct 31, 2026.
Two-month settlement. Source: Tex. Ins. Code § 1101.011, checked Oct 31, 2026.
Interest on proceeds. Source: Tex. Ins. Code § 1103.104, checked Oct 31, 2026.
Interest on lump-sum death claims. Source: Fla. Stat. § 627.4615, checked Oct 31, 2026.
Interest on proceeds for Ohio residents. Source: Ohio Rev. Code § 3915.052, checked Oct 31, 2026.
Settlement within two months of proof of death. Source: Ohio Rev. Code § 3915.05(K), checked Oct 31, 2026.

Complaints: California Department of Insurance · Florida Department of Financial Services, Division of Consumer Services.

Not yet verified: the complaint pages for the New Hampshire, Texas and Ohio insurance departments; their websites didn’t load for us today.

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