Unclaimed Life Assurance Policies: What to Do and How to Claim

In Ireland, numerous life assurance policies lie dormant that have been forgotten, overlooked or lost in paperwork. Do you think you or a loved one has an unclaimed life assurance policy?

Here is everything you need to know to identify and claim a dormant life assurance policy.

What is an unclaimed life assurance policy?

Under the Unclaimed Life Assurance Policies Act 2003, life assurance companies are required to identify policies where there has been no recent communication from the policyholder and to designate them as unclaimed policies. Once a policy has been designated as unclaimed, the funds from the policy are transferred to the Dormant Accounts Fund, managed by the National Treasury Management Agency (“NTMA”).

Importantly, these policies are not forgotten forever. You retain the right to claim the money at any time, even after it has been transferred to the NTMA. Additionally, it is not just the original policyholder who can reclaim a policy. Where the original policyholder has died or ownership of the policy has been transferred, any person who has a valid legal interest in the unclaimed policy e.g. heirs, executors, administrators or assignees, can seek to reclaim the policy.

How to reclaim an unclaimed life assurance policy

So, what should you do if you think you have an unclaimed life assurance policy? If you suspect you have an unclaimed policy and know the identity and contact details of the relevant life assurance company, contact can be made directly to the company who will guide you through the process and provide necessary unclaimed life assurance policy enquiry form. You should ensure you are able to provide all documentation such as identification, proof of relationship (if claiming on behalf of someone else), and possibly a death certificate or will if the original policyholder has passed away. Once the claim has been processed by the life assurance company, the monetary amount will be requested from the NTMA.

However, it is not always this simply to identify the original life assurance company given that the company may have changed its name, changed its address, been taken over, been amalgamated with another insurance company or closed down since the policy was initiated. Insurance Ireland maintains a register of names and contact numbers of individuals companies on the Insurance Ireland website at https://insuranceireland.eu/.

Additionally, Insurance Ireland publishes an annual notice on the 1 October in accordance with the Unclaimed Life Assurance Policies Act, 2003. This notice serves as a reminder to the public of the existence of unclaimed life assurance policies and provides all the relevant and up-to-date information that you need to identify and claim a life assurance policy. This notice is published in the Irish Times, Irish Independent and Iris Oifiguil.

For More Information

Please contact Insurance Information Service on 01 676 1820.