Jerry lives in Great Falls Montana and his question was “How do you find out if someone has a life insurance policy before they died?”

Great Falls Montana is located in Cascade county. Great Falls takes its name from the series of waterfalls that the Lewis and Clark Expedition had to portage around, requiring 31 days of arduous labor, in their 1805-06 exploration of the Louisiana Purchase. Two undeveloped parts of their portage route are land marked within the Great Falls Portage National Historic Landmark. The city is home to the C. M. Russell Museum Complex, the University of Great Falls, Giant Springs, the Roe River (world’s shortest river), and the Montana School for the Deaf and the Blind, as well as the Great Falls Voyagers minor league baseball{formally known as the Great Falls White Sox} team.

Answer to Jerry’s question: Check among all their important documents, the safety deposit box, call any and all agents or companies they may have done business with for auto and home insurance, investments, retirement planning, etc. Call the lawyer, the accountant etc. Here’s are some tips:

Also check out WWW.POLICYLOCATOR.COM. They have a large database of insurance applicants available to the public and the cost is relatively cheap considering the value of what they might uncover. You will need to provide a death certificate and a notarized application – probably a good thing from a privacy perspective.

If that doesn’t work try:

If the house and car were insured, start with the local agents who sold those policies. Insurance companies usually keep track of customer names and Social Security numbers.

If the policy was active, a premium notice eventually will come in the mail. Look for cancelled insurance checks.

Private firms specialize in finding lost life insurance for a fee. Search the Internet for “Life Benefits Search” or “Lost Life Insurance Finder.”