If you’ve watched any amount of television or movies, the thought has probably crossed your mind: can someone take out a life insurance policy on me without my knowledge? Fact or fiction, the concern is real. No one wants their death to be the reason someone benefits if it’s not something you were made aware of.
Luckily life insurance companies are well-versed in fraud detection so the chance that you’d have a policy taken out on you without your knowledge is low. However, if you suspect a life insurance policy has been taken out on you without your permission, there are ways to find out.
We’ll provide some information throughout this article to ease your fears, explain the life insurance application process, and how you can apply for your own today if you don’t have coverage already.
Checks and Balances
The chances of someone being able to take out a life insurance policy on you are extremely low because there are so many checks and balances throughout the application process that would throw up red flags to an insurance company and to you as a consumer.
The first and most basic obstacle to get through is signing an application. If someone wants to forge a signature that would get them to the next step but beyond that it would be difficult because the underwriting departments of life insurance companies would perform identity checks and cross reference all information provided in an application.
Another hurdle to get through would be getting a medical examination. Most life insurance policies require a medical exam and at the very least a copy of your medical records for an underwriter to review. With HIPAA laws and office practices, you would get a notification from your doctor alerting you that a copy of your records was requested.
Finally, when applying for a life insurance policy, insurable interest must be proven. Insurable interest means that the policyholder would suffer financial hardship if the insured died. Without one or more of these things it’d be virtually impossible to get a life insurance policy without your knowledge but there’d still be a chance.
How Can You Check If You Have A Policy Taken Out On You?
Let’s say somehow you still suspect a life insurance policy was taken out on you. It’s not likely, but it’s not out of the question. Family members may have had a policy on you since you were young and you simply may not have known. Or maybe you’re helping a friend or someone you know figure it out. No matter what, it’s important to know if you have a life insurance policy with your name on it as the insured person. As the insured, your death would trigger a death payout to beneficiaries.
What if your ex-spouse has a policy on you? You want to fix that as soon as possible so in the event you die, they don’t benefit from it. If an older, wealthy neighbor has a family member that you suspect doesn’t have the best of intentions, you would want to help them find out if they are named as an insured person on a life insurance policy.
No matter what your reason is, there are ways you can (and should) find out this information. You can contact the Medical Insurance Bureau and run a search to see if a policy was secretly bought under your name. Chances are you will come up with nothing but if you do, you will have the information you need to get to the bottom of how a policy was taken out on your without your knowledge.
Protect Your Family
What’s been laid out for you is most certainly an exception to the rule. There are rarely secret life insurance policies taken out on people so it’s usually nothing to worry about. Most life insurance policies are very cut and dry, making it a fairly simple process once you sift through them all and find one.
Because there are so many options out there, it’s easy to get confused and overwhelmed. Luckily EZ has agents specializing in life insurance. They work with the top insurance companies in the nation to help find the plan that’s right for you.
We have provided the top life insurance companies in the nation below; each offers hassle-free assistance and the most competitive rates. Always check multiple sites to make sure you have bargaining power and know the advantages of each company.
