Beaton Insurance Services

John Beaton
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Tel:  (604) 535-2404
Fax: (604) 531-4013
Toll Free In Canada
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Find Lost Life Insurance Policies

Occasionally, documentation for life insurance purchases made decades ago may have been misplaced or lost, leaving little trace of sometimes significant coverage. Executors, trustees and loved ones may find it next to impossible to track down these policies. Following are some tips to help you in your search.

Seek out the deceased's insurance brokers, lawyers and accountants.

Go through the deceased's personal effects to see if there has been any record made of contact with insurance companies, brokers or agents.

Check banking records to see if there are any cancelled cheques or entries in statements or pass books indicating premium payments, and to whom payable.

Check safety deposit boxes, strong boxes, and other storage places like the basement and attic.

Contact the personnel/human resources departments of previous employers.

Contact any associations to which the deceased's occupation indicated that he/she might have belonged.

Contact long-standing friends or neighbours to attempt to determine the deceased's favourite occupational/extracurricular pastimes, which may provide clues to the types of pastimes that may have lead to association membership.

If the person died while travelling, check with the travel agent, airline and credit card company involved in the arrangements for that last trip. There may have been free flight or trip life insurance.

If you find details of any life insurance, even if lapsed, ask that insurance company for a copy of the deceased's application since all life insurance applicants must record particulars of other life insurance in force at the time of application.

If you have not yet been successful and you still believe that life insurance coverage did exist at the time of death, then contact the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association, a Toronto based group representing the majority of companies doing business in Canada. As a service to the public, CLHIA will record pertinent information about the deceased and then, once a month, circulate same to all of its member companies. If any member company does have a policy still in force, they will contact you directly. This kind of search will not uncover contracts acquired outside of Canada, nor will it uncover coverage obtained under employer group contracts. You can imagine that such requests to the CLHIA put a lot of insurance companies to a lot of work so the CLHIA insists that you document your case, as to why you believe the deceased may have coverage and that you have not been able to locate it on your own. Fishing expeditions are not welcome. The CLHIA in Canada can be contacted by phone at 1-800-268-8099 or by going to their web site located at www.clhia.ca. The American equivilant is the National Insurance Consumer Helpline which can be contacted at 1-800-942-4242.

Lost Track Of Your Life Insurance Company?

If you have a policy and know the Canadian insurance company but can't find it, the following list of insurance company changes of ownership may be of help.

Abbey Life was bought by ITT Hartford Life Insurance Company of Canada, which was later bought by AIG Life Life Insurance Company of Canada.

Aetna Life bought Financial Life and Excelsior Life and then Maritime Life bought Aetna Life.

Aeterna Life was taken over by Desjardens Group.

Canada Life bought Crown Life.

Colonia Life changed its name to Concordia Life and then Empire Life purchased Concordia Life and is currently in the process of integrating all its products and systems so the name Concordia will no longer exist.

Confederation Life's individual life insurance contracts and segregated funds were bought by Maritime Life.

Commercial Union Life was bought by Manulife Financial

The Credit Life changed to Union Fidelity Life.

Gerling Global Life and Sun Alliance have been bought by Royal Life which changed its name to Royal & SunAlliance Life. This company has now been purchased by Maritime Life.

Glacier National Life was bought by The Bank of Nova Scotia.

Holland Life Insurance Society Ltd. was purchased by Commercial Union Life in 1973. In April 2001, Commercial Union's individual life book of business was assumed by Manulife.

Laurentian Life was absorbed by The Imperial Life Insurance Company of Canada.

Laurier Life is now a division of Imperial Life.

London Life was bought by Great West Life but still operates as London Life and markets under the name of Freedom 55 Financial.

Mony Life was bought by NN Life which then became Transamerica Life.

Metropolitan Life of Canada was bought by Mutual Life which has since changed its name to Clarica. Metropolitan Life accumulated some brokerage life insurance sales which Mutual Life didn't want so those clients were sold to Equitable Life. Some older, paid up industrial policies are still retained by the original Metropolitan Life and can be tracked down by using the toll free number 1-877-210-2212.

Mutual of Omaha was purchased by RBC Life.

North American Life was bought by Manulife Financial.

New York Life was absorbed by Canada Life.

NN Life was bought by Transamerica Life.

Norwich Union was bought by AIG Life Insurance Company of Canada.

Prudential Life Insurance Company of England was bought by Mutual Life which has since changed its name to Clarica..

Royal & SunAlliance was purchased by Maritime Life.

Seaboard Life was bought by North West Life which in turn was bought by Industrial Life. Industrial Life then changed its name to Industrial Alliance Pacific Life Insurance Company.

Sovereign Life's individual life insurance book of business was assumed by Standard Life after the Ontario Superintendent of Financial Services took over control of the company in 1992.

Westbury Life and Canadian General Life joined and the combined company was renamed Westbury Canadian Life. Westbury Canadian Life was then bought out by the Royal Bank who continued the operation for a while as Westbury Life and then changed the name to RBC Life.

The Federal Civil Service Mutual Benefit Society was taken over by Sun Life.

Toronto Mutual Life changed its name to Unity Life.

Transamerica Life was bought by Aegon but continued under the Transamerica Life name.

U.N.A. Life was absorbed by Maritime Life.

Western Life changed its name to Unity Life.

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