How do I find out if Mother had a life insurance policy?

pamstegma

That's interesting. Closing my mom's accounts I sent a letter with a copy of the death certificate.

Contact big named insurance companies, ie Metlife, Nationwide, Allstate, etc. They'll need your mom's name and SSN.

I'm so sorry for your loss.

Do a credit check on the deceased. This won't reveal life insurance, but it will show all open accounts that need to be closed. Bear in mind that as the beneficiary, you don't have much authority. You need to be Executor, or if there is no Will, you apply to the county court to be the administrator of her estate. We filled out the county form, paid $1 to file it and got authority in a few weeks.

I found an article a while ago and made a copy of suggestions. Here you go:
1. Look for Insurance Related Documents
Search through files, bank safe deposit boxes and other storage places to see if there are any insurance related documents. Also, check address books for the names of any insurance professionals or companies—an agent or company who sold the deceased their auto or home insurance may know about the existence of a life insurance policy.
2. Contact Financial Advisors
Present or prior attorneys, accountants, investment advisors, bankers, business insurance agents/brokers and other financial professionals might have information about the deceased’s life insurance policies.
3. Review Life Insurance Applications
The application for each policy is attached to that policy. So if you can find any of the deceased’s life insurance policies, look at the application—will have a list of any other life insurance policies owned at the time of the application.
4. Contact Previous Employers
Former employers maintain records of past group policies.
5. Check Bank Books, Statements and Canceled Checks
See if any checks have been made out to life insurance companies over the years.
6. Check the Mail for a Year Following the Death of the Policyholder
Look for premium notices or dividend notices. If a policy has been paid up, there will no notice of premium payments due; however, the company may still send an annual notice regarding the status of the policy or notice of a dividend.
7. Review the Deceased’s Income Tax Returns for the Past Two Years
Look for interest income from and interest expenses paid to life insurance companies. Life insurance companies pay interest on accumulations on permanent policies and charge interest on policy loans.
8. Contact State Insurance Departments
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) has a “Life Insurance Company Location System” to help you find state insurance department officials who can help to identify companies that might have written life insurance on the deceased. The site administrators may delete link but To access that service, go to the NAIC’s https://eapps.naic.org/orphanedpolicy/.
9. Check with the State’s Unclaimed Property Office
If a life insurance company knows that an insured client has died but can’t find the beneficiary, it must turn the death benefit over to the state in which the policy was purchased as “unclaimed property.” If you know (or can guess) where the policy was bought, you can contact the state comptroller’s department to see if it has any unclaimed money from life insurance policies belonging to the deceased. A good place to start is the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administration. Website - https://www.unclaimed.org/ google national association of unclaimed property if link deleted.

My mother just died and had vascular dementia and could not remember anything.
I want to know if there is a way I can find out if she had any life insurance policies.
I am the beneficiary to her estate.