Lilly Urges Consumers to Check for Benefits During Life Insurance Awareness Month

SPRINGFIELD, Ill.  – State Rep. Camille Y. Lilly, D-Chicago, is encouraging residents to check for unclaimed life insurance benefits in the remaining days of Life Insurance Awareness Month this September.

“Each year millions of dollars of benefits owed to individuals and families from life insurance policies go unclaimed,” Lilly said. “It is critical that these dollars reach the families that need them and don’t sit unclaimed.”

Lilly is urging consumers to check the Illinois Department of Insurance’s (DOI) online Life Policy Locator tool to help identify if a deceased family member had an individual life insurance policy or annuity contract. Consumers can find the Life Policy Locator tool at insurance.illinois.gov. Consumers needing additional assistance can contact the DOI at DOI.LifePolicyLocator@illinois.gov or 866-445-5364.

According to DOI estimates, a quarter of life insurance policies go unpaid because family members aren’t aware of the policy, don’t know the insurer or no longer have access to paperwork for the policy. This led to the creation of the Life Policy Locator tool by a Lilly-backed law that also mandated life insurers in Illinois implement a thorough search to identify, locate and contact a life insurance beneficiary.

“The Life Policy Locator gives individuals and families a simple way to see if they are owed money from a life insurance policy,” Lilly said. “During Life Insurance Awareness Month, I highly encourage consumers to use the Life Policy Locator to help them find money that they are owed.”