Dave Says
Advice from Nashville's leading Financial Aid Advisor Dave Ramsey
Author of Financial Peace and The Total Money Makeover
Need help finding mother's lost insurance company?
Dear Dave,
My mother-in-law purchased a single-premium insurance policy back in 1977 for
$21,000. She passed away last year and I just found this in a drawer. I tried to
contact the insurance company in Philadelphia, PA by calling the phone number
listed on the policy, but the phone number is for a different company. How do I
find current contact information for this company?
I tried calling the Pennsylvania Department of Insurance, but was put on hold
for so long I finally just hung up.
Sue in Grand Rapids, MI
Dear Sue,
That would be the correct place to call and get their contact information.
Insurance is regulated stat-by-state. In order to sell insurance in a particular
state, the insurance company must register with that state. So, the Pennsylvania
state insurance commissioner will have a record of what has happened to this
company – including if they changed names, merged with another company, moved or
simply went out of business. You may also write to American Counsel of Life
Insurance, Attn: Missing Policy Service, P O Box 615, Riva, MD 21140 and, for a
small fee, they will contact the top 100 insurance companies to find out which
one issued the policy.
Just as a side note, if the company has gone out of business, you will probably
still be able to collect on the insurance. Each state manages a risk pool into
which all of the insurance companies in that state pay. If a company goes out of
business, then the claims are paid out from that risk pool.
-Dave
2/21/2005
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