As the name implies, “insurance” protects us from life’s risks. Life, disability, health, long-term care, and for that matter, property and casualty insurance, provide safety and comfort if and when our worst fears are realized. Insurance of any kind is a burden when you don’t need it and a godsend when you do.

If your late spouse had life insurance, you must make a claim for payment of the proceeds. You must also elect whether to take payment in a lump sum or over a period of years. If others depend on you for their support, you own a business, or will have substantial income or estate tax liability at your death, you yourself might need life insurance.

Unless you are over the age of 65, handicapped, or indigent, you are responsible for your own health insurance. Even if you are 65 or older, you may want to supplement the coverage provided under government-provided Medicare. Maintaining quality and comprehensive medical coverage for you and your family is of critical importance. Any gap in coverage exposes you to potentially devastating risks.

Health insurance and Medicare provide only minimal coverage in the event you require long-term nursing home care. Medicare provides coverage for a portion of the first one hundred days of nursing home care if you enter the nursing home from the hospital in a related illness (see Chapter 13, “Losing Independence”). Medicaid is available for indigent nursing home patients in a limited number of facilities on a limited availability basis. If you have substantial assets, long term nursing home care isn’t an issue. If you have limited assets, you might consider long-term care insurance to avoid dissipating all of your assets and to insure a stay in a quality facility.

LOCATING LIFE INSURANCE POLICIES

Finding life insurance isn’t always an easy task. Look through important papers at home, at the office, and in your safe deposit box if you have one. Examine your checkbook register for payments to life insurance companies.

You may enlist the help of your insurance agent, your late spouse’s human resources/employee benefits department, or the Veterans Administration to help you to determine if coverage exists. When speaking with your late spouse’s employer you might also inquire about other benefits such as accidental death benefits, unused sick time, unused vacation pay, deferred compensation arrangements, and qualified retirement plan benefits.

Look for “credit life” insurance on large purchases such as your home and auto. Although we don’t recommend you purchase credit life, your spouse may have obtained this coverage to pay off large debts. Typically, credit life insurance premium payments are added to the monthly loan payment on the purchase.

You may also use the power of the Internet to locate life insurance policies on your spouse’s life. For instance, check http://www.lifesearch.net.

Even if you find old policies that you know or suspect have lapsed, there may still be value in terms of a death benefit. It will cost you nothing to ask.

CLAIM PROCEDURE

You should begin the claims process as soon as possible after your spouse’s death. The life insurance claims process will take approximately thirty days from the time you make your claim to your receipt of proceeds. The first step is to call your agent, your late spouse’s company benefits department, the Veterans Administration , or the life insurance company directly.

In recent years, insurance companies have simplified the claims process. Although each company’s procedures are different, all that is usually needed is your claim for payment (sometimes required to be in writing on a form sent to you by the company) and a death certificate.

Nonetheless, you should have the following information handy:

1. A copy of the policy.
2. Your spouse’s last day worked.
3. His date and place of birth.
4. Source of birth information.
5. Date, place and cause of death.
6. Your name, address and Social Security number.

If you choose the lump sum settlement option, the insurance company may require you to surrender the original policy document. If another settlement option is selected (see below), you should keep the policy as evidence of your continuing entitlement to distributions. You may be entitled to additional (sometimes double) benefits if you late spouse’s death was accidental.

If your spouse died within 2 years of the policy’s issue date (the “contestability period”), the insurance company is likely to conduct a routine investigation to determine whether the death was caused by suicide, or if the application contained fraudulent misrepresentations. This procedure may delay the claim process.