Life insurance claim help and advice needed

rr_beth

I am trying to claim on the life insurance on my parent’s passing.

The life insurance company has lost the original policy documentation. Hence do not have the beneficiary name , nor proof the documentation that it was held in trust . I now have had letters from the company stating that the policy was held in trust and not part of the estate. However they are still asking for documentation such as the will and probate forms.  Why would these be required? Can I challenge them on this ? as the original T&c of the policy I saw never has this in their information.

In addition they are wanting me to sign additional forms that I absolves them of any responsibility for loosing the documentation. I don’t want to sign them without getting someone qualified to explain them to me . Also they want witnesses to sign all the forms too.  Difficult as I am isolating .  Do Have any suggestions where I can go for advice on this ?

Old_Lifer

Were they  still paying premiums   or is this  an old policy document you have found  where premiums ceased long ago. ?

If the policy was written in trust most policyholders would keep the trust document with the policy.   Have you found this ?

The requirement for sight of the will or probate would not be mentioned in the policy.

It would appear that they have lost part of the documentation.

The form you are being asked to sign is probably an indemnity,   to cover them if they pay-out on the policy and then someone  appears later with who has a valid claim  (the policy may have been assigned).

MovingForwards

It's standard when claiming on policies and also you are indemnifying them against any claims by signing the additional form.
Speak with a solicitor who handles probate matters.

Old_Lifer

They are probably asking for the will and probate  to cover their backs in view of the  missing documentation.    A Life Office will often  not  requre probate if the Estate is small  but  this will vary from one Life Office to another.

rr_beth

Policy docs lost a long time ago - policy is over 20 years old, but have plenty of correspondence from company.
All the forms indemnity and documentation to prove identity require witnesses. At this time the solicitor is shut and I am into going out /isolating.
the process of dealing with this company is long and arduous and paper based. compared with dealing with ALL the other financial companies. They don’t offer any electronic method of submission nor claim.  I am perplexed and frustrated by their inflexible attitude , I am certainly not treated as a valued customer. It feels like they are making it as difficult as possible.

rr_beth

Can I challenge them on having to provide all the extra ( and original documentation) which I have to send by post. In this case the Will and probate.
 I am loathe to do this in case they get lost , the “lost” all the original policy document, 

dunstonh

The life insurance company has lost the original policy documentation. Hence do not have the beneficiary name , nor proof the documentation that it was held in trust .

That happens quite often as the insurer didn't retain the original trust documents but returned them to the policyholder to keep with the policy documents.  Sometimes you would just find, after many years, that the insurer would know it was in trust but not the trust specifics.

In addition they are wanting me to sign additional forms that I absolves them of any responsibility for loosing the documentation.

Are you sure its not an indemnity because the policy document is missing?

the process of dealing with this company is long and arduous and paper based. compared with dealing with ALL the other financial companies. 

If the original policy documents have been lost, then that would be part of the reason why it is slow.    People are told to hold on to these for safekeeping for good reason.

I am perplexed and frustrated by their inflexible attitude , I am certainly not treated as a valued customer. It feels like they are making it as difficult as possible.

They have to be sure they are paying it out to the correct person.  With the policy documents and trust documents lost, they have to jump through more hoops.

Can I challenge them on having to provide all the extra ( and original documentation) which I have to send by post. In this case the Will and probate.

You can challenge them on the colour of the carpet in their office if you wish.   However, it is normal for the original grant of representation to be requested as it has an embossed seal that a photocopy cannot pick up.   Life companies vary on whether they will accept a certified copy of the Willl or an original.

 I am loathe to do this in case they get lost , the “lost” all the original policy document, 

Are you saying that you sen them the original policy document with the claim and they lost that?    Your earlier comments suggested that the policyholder lost the policy documents.

Old_Lifer

Ah,  so  you don't have the policy?    In that case it would be quite normal to send-out a  Statutory Declaration  ( perhaps called  a Lost  Policy Form or something similar nowadays)  which is designed to  protect them against a further claim.    Although most policyholders will store their documentation where it can be easily found,   a significant number will say the policy has been lost.   When  the form is sent-out for completion and faced with the hassle of completing the form ,  the 'lost' policy will often suddenly re-appear.    A fixed fee of £5  for witnessing  the signature on a Statutory Declaration  was introduced  way back in time and I believe it was still £5  twenty-odd years ago  but I have absolutely no idea if that is still the case today.     I once had to complete a Statutory Declaration myself.     Having completed the form,  I appeared at the counter of a local solicitors asking if someone could witness my signing the form.   A solicitor appeared from the back office,  glanced through what I had written, watched me sign the from and then witnessed the signature.   I then paid a fiver and left.    The whole process took about two minutes.

If you want payment,   you will have to send whatever they require but  may I suggest that you take copies for your own records  and send the originals by Special Delivery.       If the Estate is small,  I  would tell them the size of the Estate in total  and ask if they can waive their requirement.   This would considerably speed-up payment of the claim.      As to what would be regarded as a small Estate nowadays,  I have  no idea at all.     Would it  be under £50,000,  perhaps ?  I really couldn't say.   Perhaps another Forum member could enlighten us.

rr_beth

The original documentation they are asking me to post are for Identity checking. Original photo Id ( passport , driving licence).
then in addition. A blank cheque/ paying in slip or paper utility bill with address.

Since I have gone paperless I have none of these.
They’ve not got to the 21century yet.
i cannot go out and get any documentation photocopied nor get it witnessed due to the part of the U.K. I am in is still in lockdown No solicitor Office open . I am also isolating.

dunstonh

If the Estate is small,  I  would tell them the size of the Estate in total  and ask if they can waive their requirement. 

Although nowadays, if probate has been obtained, providers will insist on seeing it and will not use the small estate's waiver (i happen to have a Std Life form to hand where they will use small estate waiver up to 70k but if probate has been obtained they will not).   Pru are still down around £30k for theirs.

Since I have gone paperless I have none of these.
They’ve not got to the 21century yet.

The law has not really been tested on electronic documents and providers are wary of liability.  Remember, you are looking at just your case.  They are looking at tens of millions of pounds or more across the board.   And last time I looked, driving licence and passport are not paperless.

then in addition. A blank cheque/ paying in slip or paper utility bill with address.

That is to comply with the anti money laundering requirements.   There are other things that are normally accepted.  A recent bank statement showing sort code, account number, name and address.    And as bank statements and utility bills are mostly available in pdf form and can be printed by you then that is not a problem.

i cannot go out and get any documentation photocopied nor get it witnessed due to the part of the U.K. I am in is still in lockdown No solicitor Office open . I am also isolating.

In which case you wait.   

rr_beth

I am dealing with the banks and building societies and they have been so much more accommodating. Scanned versions of documentation has all been accepted and provided electronically. That certainly complies with anti money laundering rules and identity verification. 

It’s clearly not in their interest to modernise. They explicitly state the don’t accept the downloaded versions of my utility bills.