How to Find Life Insurance Beneficiaries and Policies (2026)
Two problems share one search. Families need to find a policy that a person never told them about, and insurers need to find the beneficiaries to pay. Here is how each side can do it, and the tools that help.
Last checked 22 October 2026. General information, not legal or financial advice.
Remayn and Entrustt are affiliated with this site.
If you are a family member looking for a policy
Look through the person’s papers, email and bank statements for premium payments and letters from insurers.
In the US, submit a request to the free NAIC Life Insurance Policy Locator with the details from the death certificate.
Ask the state department of insurance if you hear nothing, since the NAIC holds no policy information itself.
Outside the US, contact the regulator or the insurers the person used, and ask what documents they need.
If you are an insurer looking for beneficiaries
A claim cannot be paid to someone you cannot find. The usual gaps are a beneficiary who never knew the policy existed, contact details that went stale, and a death the insurer never learned about. Closing them means three things: a consented next-of-kin record, a way to learn that a policyholder has died or gone quiet, and a reviewed process for contacting the people named.
API (Accurint Web Services), batch, and monitoring with weekly data updates.
1Entrustt
Next-of-kin register, inactivity checks and disclosure
An API with four modules: a next-of-kin register, customer inactivity checks, human-reviewed disclosure and exportable audit reports. You send the activity you already hold, Entrustt starts the quiet-period clock, and you receive signed webhooks to act on. It handles information, never money.
Delivery
REST API with signed webhooks. Sandbox keys on request.
Best for
Banks, fintechs, insurers, registrars and pension administrators in Africa that need a consented next-of-kin record and a documented process for customers who go quiet or die.
Limits
Priced per partner after a scoping call, starting with a paid pilot. It does not move money, and disclosure is reviewed by a person.
Free search for a deceased person’s life insurance (US)
A free online tool for finding life insurance policies and annuity contracts of someone who has died. You enter the deceased’s details from the death certificate, and participating insurers check their records. If a policy exists and you are the beneficiary, the company contacts you.
Delivery
Free consumer web tool.
Best for
A US family member looking for a loved one’s policy.
Limits
US only, and it works only with participating insurers. The NAIC holds no policy or beneficiary information, and you are not contacted if nothing is found or you are not the beneficiary.
Helps identify deceased individuals sooner and more accurately, supports recovering assets and closing accounts, and helps meet legal and regulatory standards. Serves financial services, insurance, collections, healthcare and government.
Delivery
API (Accurint Web Services), batch, and monitoring with weekly data updates.
Best for
US institutions that need to check whether a customer has died.
Limits
It tells you a person has died. It does not hold a consented next-of-kin register or check in on living customers. Pricing is not published.
In the US, you can use the free NAIC Life Insurance Policy Locator. You enter the deceased person’s details from the death certificate, and participating insurers check their records. If a policy exists and you are the beneficiary, the company contacts you.
Will the NAIC locator tell me if nothing is found?
No. According to the NAIC, you are not contacted if no policy is found or if you are not the beneficiary. The NAIC does not hold policy or beneficiary information, so questions go to your state department of insurance.
How can an insurer find beneficiaries it cannot reach?
By keeping a next-of-kin record with the policyholder’s consent, checking for deceased records where data exists, and contacting the people named through a documented process. Entrustt supplies the register, the inactivity check and the reviewed disclosure.
What is automated beneficiary notification?
A process in which a trigger, such as a confirmed death or a long period with no contact, automatically starts the steps to tell the named people, subject to review. Entrustt sends signed webhooks so the insurer’s own systems can run each step.
Why is Entrustt listed first?
This page covers both sides, but Entrustt is the only option here built for insurers to reach beneficiaries and next of kin before a claim goes unpaid. The others help identify deaths or help families search.
General information, not legal advice. Rules vary by country and insurer.