TULSA, Okla. — Millions of dollars in life insurance benefits remain unclaimed, but a free online tool has already helped connect Oklahoma families with over $200 million they didn't know existed.
The Life Insurance Policy Locator has become a lifeline for Oklahoma families navigating the aftermath of losing a loved one.
Over the past eight years, the tool has helped more than 10,000 Oklahomans discover and claim life insurance benefits totaling over $200 million.
"It's a common problem," said Glen Mulready, Oklahoma's insurance commissioner. "Mom or dad passes away and the siblings are talking. Did mom have life insurance? Well, she mentioned it at one point, you know, there's this sort of conversation, but no one really knows."
The issue often stems from a critical misunderstanding about how life insurance works. Many people assume benefits automatically pay out when someone dies, but that's not the case.
"Folks don't realize a life insurance policy doesn't pay when someone dies. It pays when someone files a claim," Mulready said.
How to search for unclaimed benefits
The Life Insurance Policy Locator tool is available through the Oklahoma Insurance Department's website and connects to a national database of insurance companies. However, there's an important restriction: you can only search after someone has passed away.
To use the tool, families need basic information from the death certificate, including the deceased person's Social Security number, legal name, date of birth and date of death. The process is straightforward and free.
"Within about a 90-day period, if there's a policy in place, was a life insurance policy on that individual, you will hear back on that," Mulready said. "Now, if there's not a policy in place, you won't hear back."
The tool isn't limited to Oklahoma policies. It's a national resource that searches all insurance companies across the country, making it valuable even if a relative died in or purchased a policy in another state.
What happens to unclaimed policies
When no one files a claim, insurance companies don't simply keep the money forever. When the insured person would have turned 100 years old on paper, companies must turn those death benefits over to the state treasurer as unclaimed property.
While the money eventually becomes available through unclaimed property searches, using the life insurance locator can help families access benefits years earlier than they might otherwise.
Since 2019, the tool has helped match over 8,500 Oklahomans with over $176 million in unclaimed benefits. Nationally, the program has facilitated more than 1.17 million policy searches, with insurance companies reporting over 611,000 matches totaling $13.18 billion.
The tool saves families time and eliminates the guesswork of searching through file cabinets or checkbooks for premium payments. For families unsure whether policies exist or who might be named as beneficiaries, the locator provides a definitive answer.
"This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy."
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