How to Find Out if Someone Has a Life Insurance Policy

Uncovering Dormant Life Insurance Policies: What You Need to Know

The practice of taking out life insurance policies (in case of death) is much more common than one might imagine, often due to the fact that this information is not usually readily shared.
It is a strictly personal matter, to the extent that often even the beneficiaries are unaware of their right to the policy, which remains dormant.
This phenomenon of dormant policies occurs periodically, often leading to considerable surprise.

But how can you find out if someone has a life insurance policy? In fact, this is not public information; rather, it is a very personal and private matter deserving protection from privacy violations.
Furthermore, knowing this information could expose policyholders to severe risks.
There have been several cases in Italy of murders committed for insurance money, although many believe it to be just a plot from a detective movie.

For this reason, determining whether a person has a life insurance policy is only possible when non-prejudicial and always provided that the requester has a valid interest in doing so.
Here’s what you need to know.

Can I Find Out if Someone Has a Life Insurance Policy?

As many may suspect, it is not possible to find out if a person has a life insurance policy while they are alive.
There is no legally justifiable interest that could warrant such an invasion of someone else’s privacy, especially when this information could lead to hostilities.
For the same reason, no one has the right to know a person’s will until after their death.

It is, however, possible to discover if a deceased person had a life insurance policy—not because privacy lacks protection after death, but because there may be valid interests in having this information.
In particular:

• Identifying if one is a beneficiary of the policy;
• Verifying compliance with the legal portion of inheritance.

Additionally, there may be the need to verify the legitimacy of the insurance contract considering the deceased’s incapacity to understand and will.
Consequently, only those with these interests or their lawyer with power of attorney have the right to request and receive information about the deceased’s life insurance policy.

Moreover, depending on the case, the accessible information may vary.
In particular, the potential beneficiary of the policy has the right to know if a policy has been taken out in their favor for collection purposes only.
They will not be entitled to know about other contracts, the identity of other beneficiaries, or the amount of the premium.

On the other hand, heirs, in case of reduction of the legal portion, have the right to know the identity of the beneficiaries and the amount of the premium to take legal action and obtain restitution.
This approach has been confirmed several times by the Court of Cassation, although there remain some uncertainties regarding the relation between the insurance premium and the inherited estate.
It is generally relevant only in case of breaches of the legal portion.

Lastly, the deceased’s family members may want to initiate an investigation to challenge the validity of the policy due to the policyholder’s incapacity.
In this scenario, they must take legal action against the insurance company, to whom they have no right to know further details beyond the existence of the policy.

How to Find Out if Someone Has a Life Insurance Policy

Those who have a legitimate claim to be potential beneficiaries of a deceased person’s life insurance policy can initiate a search directly through the online portal of the National Association of Insurance Companies (Ania) after registering or by sending a request to portaleservizi@ania.it with the subject “life insurance policy search.”

The request can also be submitted directly to the banks or insurance companies of which the deceased was a client, ensuring to first provide the death certificate and then formulating the request in writing (ideally both communications via registered mail with acknowledgment of receipt or PEC).
This approach prevents the unjustified denial of providing information and avoids the risk of prescription of rights.
Naturally, documenting one’s right as an heir or family member is essential.