To find a lost life insurance policy in the UK after someone has died, start with what they left behind: bank statements, post and emails usually show which insurer was being paid. If nothing turns up, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) keeps a register for tracing who now runs an old policy, and the executor can write to likely insurers directly.

Whenever you feel ready, ask an FCA-authorised broker how an old policy like this usually pays out; the call is free and this page's form requests it. There is no need to rush the search.

What do the bank statements, post and emails show?

Regular payments are the best clue. Look through the statements of the account the person used for bills, and check for a monthly or yearly payment to an insurer. Aviva's guidance on what happens after a death says the payment reference is usually the policy number, so write it down before you phone.

Other places worth a look:

  • a folder, drawer or desk where the person kept important papers, including letters headed "annual statement" or "policy schedule";
  • emails and online accounts; Aviva notes that next of kin can ask an email provider to release data, and each provider has its own process;
  • old mortgage and loan paperwork, which may mention a linked policy;
  • a financial adviser, accountant or solicitor the person used, who may hold copies.

One catch: Aviva points out that a whole of life policy might have stopped needing regular payments while still being in force, so a quiet bank statement does not rule one out.

Did cover come through their employer?

Death-in-service cover is arranged by an employer, so it usually will not show up as a premium on their own bank statement. The employer's HR or payroll team can tell you whether it existed, and a staff handbook may mention it. Our guide to death-in-service insurance explains how it works, and the pages on NHS and teacher schemes cover two of the larger ones.

How do you find out which insurer holds an old policy?

Insurers merge and rename, so a name on an old letter may belong to a company that no longer exists. The ABI says its register lets you "identify which company now administers an old pension, life insurance or endowment policy", and you can search it by the name of the original provider. It also lets you check the contact details in a tracing letter you have received.

Once you have a name, contact that insurer. Our pages on finding an Aviva policy and Royal London policy documents show what one insurer's customer service route looks like.

What should you say when you contact an insurer?

Write or phone as the executor or administrator if you are one, and give the full name, date of birth, last address and date of death of the person who died, plus any policy or payment reference you found. Ask the insurer to search its records for any policy in that name, even if you are not sure it holds one. Expect to be asked for a death certificate and proof that you are entitled to act; the sections on making a claim are in our pages for Aviva and Royal London.

Whether a grant of probate is needed depends on how the policy was set up. If a policy in one person's name was not in trust, the money usually goes to their estate, and Aviva's trust guide says probate or letters of administration come first. Our page on life insurance and probate goes through that. If a letter or payment names a brand you do not recognise, a broker can match it to the insurer that now runs it, on a free call-back arranged through this page's form.

GOV.UK's guidance reminds you that Tell Us Once covers government departments only; you still have to tell organisations outside government, "like employers and private pension providers, banks, and utility companies". Telling an insurer is always a separate step.

Which tracing services are free, and which have charged?

Tracing services come and go. Experian's Unclaimed Asset Register, which Which? described in August 2022 as a database of investments, pensions and life insurance policies held with 76 major providers, charged a fixed fee of £25 and closed later that month, so older advice that sends you there is out of date. Check what any service charges before you give it details; these two still run:

  • Gretel. Age UK (page last updated 10 February 2025) describes it as a free service, launched in April 2022, that searches for all types of financial assets including pensions, and says some institutions may not be signed up to it yet. Gretel's own site says executors, administrators and others with the legal right to act can use it to search for someone who has died, at no cost (November 2022), and it announced in May 2024 that Aviva had joined.
  • My Lost Account. A free service that brings together the UK Finance, Building Societies Association and NS&I tracing schemes. It finds bank, building society and NS&I accounts, not life insurance, but it can turn up an old account whose statements show premiums.

A search for someone else's accounts can only be asked for by a person legally entitled to act for them, such as an executor, with a separate application for each person.

Is there a pension to trace as well?

A workplace or personal pension is separate from a life policy, but a pension scheme may pay a lump sum on death. The GOV.UK service for finding pension contact details covers "someone else's scheme if you have their permission", needs the name of an employer or pension provider, and "will not tell you whether you have a pension, or what its value is". The Pension Tracing Service also takes requests by phone and post; ask how it handles a search for a person who has died, because the online form asks for permission.

What if nothing turns up yet?

At Aviva, a policy left unclaimed for years can still be paid. Aviva may move such a policy into the Dormant Assets Scheme once 7 years have passed with no word from a claimant, yet "all unclaimed and dormant assets remain their owners' property" and claimants can always reclaim the money by contacting its claims teams. Which? reported in 2022 that the scheme had been expanded to include insurance policies, and suggested searching a provider's website for "lost account" to see its procedure.

A first search that finds nothing is not the final answer. Gretel keeps looking after you sign up, and Age UK notes that new firms are joining it all the time, so a match can come later. When something turns up and you are unsure who it pays, a broker can explain the likely route free by phone, which this page's form arranges.

Frequently asked questions

Can you find a lost life insurance policy for free?

Checking statements and writing to insurers costs nothing, and Age UK describes both Gretel and My Lost Account as free. Be wary of any service that asks for a fee, and read what it charges before you pay.

Is there one register of every life insurance policy in the UK?

No. The ABI's register tells you which company now runs an old policy once you know the original provider's name; it does not list who held cover. Gretel searches only the firms signed up to it, so writing to each likely insurer is still worth doing.

What if I have lost my own policy documents?

The same route works: look for a payment to an insurer on your bank statement, use the ABI's register if you know the original company, then contact the insurer and ask for a copy.

Does an unclaimed policy lose its value?

Aviva says unclaimed assets remain their owners' property and can always be reclaimed. Other insurers may word this differently, so ask each one.

Who receives the money if a forgotten policy turns up?

That depends on how it was set up, for example a joint policyholder, trustees or the estate. Where there is no trust, the estate receives the money; see our claim page for what an insurer needs.

Sources