Many Life Beneficiaries Have No Idea Where the Policy Is: NAIC

By Allison Bell

News January 29, 2020 at 07:50 PM

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Only 41% of life insurance beneficiaries who are Baby Boomers say they know where the life insurance policy is stored, and only 33% say they know the name of the life insurer that wrote the policy.

Beneficiaries in Generation Z are slightly more likely to say the know the name of the carrier, but Generation Z beneficiaries are much less likely to say they know where the policy is.

About 25% say they know the name of the carrier, but only 23% say they know where to find the policy.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) has reported those findings in a summary of results from an online poll of about 1,000 consumers conducted earlier this month.

The NAIC defined a Generation Z survey participant as one who was ages 18 through 23, and a Baby Boomer participant as one who was ages 56 through 74.

The NAIC conducted the survey to draw attention to its Insurance Policy Locator tool program, which helps consumers who believe they have the right to claim life insurance or annuity benefits but cannot find the documents they need to collect the benefits.

The tool has helped consumers collect about $765 million in life and annuity benefits since 2016, according to the NAIC.

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