If someone has a life insurance policy, their family or friends may get some money when they die. This information is for family or friends of someone who has died. You may know that the person who died had life insurance or you may not be sure. Making an insurance claim can seem worrying. This page explains what life insurance is and questions you can ask.
What is life insurance?
Life insurance is a type of insurance people can get when they are alive. When they die, the life insurance company may give money to their family or friends. Life insurance is sometimes called life cover.
Your family member or friend might have had life insurance by:
- buying it themself (private life insurance)
- getting it through their employer.
Life insurance policies are all different, so it’s best to contact the company or the person’s employer to find out more.
Private life insurance
You can contact your family member or friend's life insurance company to find out about their life insurance policy and how to make a claim.
Finding the company
Some people do not know who the policy is with or whether their family member or friend had life insurance. There are different ways to find the company:
- The Association of British Insurers can help you to find them.
- If you have access to the person’s bank statements, you could see if there is a regular payment to an insurance provider.
- You could also check the person’s emails – ask their email provider if you can have access.
Life insurance through an employer
Some people have life insurance through an employer. It’s sometimes called a death in service benefit or group life cover.
If your family member or friend dies, the insurance company may pay out the money. They are usually only covered if they are employed when they die.
Contact your family member or friend's employer to find out more about whether they had life insurance and how to make a claim.
Questions you can ask about claiming life insurance
These are some questions you can ask the life insurance company or your family member or friend's employer. The answers will depend on the type of life insurance they had and what their policy covers. It is different for each person.
Making a claim
- Was the person’s life insurance active (for example, does it cover the time they died and were their payments up to date)?
- Could I have a copy of the policy document?
- How do I make a claim?
- What documents do I need to send you?
How the money will be given
- Who will get the money?
- Will the money go straight to me, or will it need to be divided up as part of the person’s estate (with their possessions, house or money)?
- How much money will I get from the life insurance?
- Do I get all the money at once (a lump sum) or regular payments?
- When will I get the money?
Getting the money for funeral payments
- Can I pay for the funeral with the life insurance money?
- Can you provide these funds before any insurance claim is completed?
Other benefits and pension
- Are there any other benefits I should be aware of?
- (For the employer) Did my family member or friend have a pension I can claim?
