Can someone buy term life insurance on my life without my knowledge or permission?
Fortunately having someone buy term life insurance on you without your consent is almost impossible, but it’s important to understand the steps you should take if it occurs.
Whether you’re ready to buy term life insurance or you’re researching your options, Quotacy is here to answer your questions.
Buy Term Life Insurance with Confidence
Life insurance companies implement numerous strategies to prevent insurance fraud. These obstacles allow insurers to verify an applicant’s identity and obtain express permission to move forward with coverage. These strategies include:
- Application questions: When applying for life insurance, there are certain questions that the insurance carrier uses to verify identity. These questions include:
- Full name
- Street address
- Social Security number
- Driver’s license number
- Employer information
- Signatures: All life insurance applications require the signature of the proposed insured.
- A release form: Most life insurance policies require the proposed insured to sign a consent form to release his/her medical information.
- Phone interview: After submitting an application, the life insurance company will contact the proposed insured for a confidential phone interview to review the application’s accuracy.
- A medical exam: After applying, most life insurance policies require the proposed insured to take a medical exam. The medical examiner will check the insured’s ID to ensure identity and will ask the insured many of the same questions from the application to verify answers.
- Insurable interest: In order for someone to purchase life insurance on someone else, life insurance companies require insurable interest. Insurable interest means there has to be financial dependence. For example, spouses rely on one another’s income for their standard of living. In contrast, your neighbor does not have a financial interest in your life and could not buy term life insurance on you.
In order for someone to purchase life insurance on someone else, life insurance companies require insurable interest. Insurable interest means there has to be financial relationship (dependence) between the person whose life is insured and the person(s) who will receive the payout of the life insurance money upon death of the insured.
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Steps to Take If Someone Did Buy Term Life Insurance on You Without Your Permission
After taking those safeguards into consideration, if you still think someone may have decided to buy term life insurance (or any type of life insurance) on you without your permission, there are steps you can take, but it may take some effort. It is not possible to just Google your name alongside the words life insurance to find out. Life insurance is personal, so protecting your privacy is important.
Step 1: If you think you know which life insurance company the policy in question was purchased from, you can call their customer service and explain the situation. They will be able to confirm if there is a life insurance policy on you and then help you make the appropriate steps to terminate it. There are many life insurance companies, however, so this option only realistically works if you know the name of the life insurance company.
Step 2: You can request your Medical Information Bureau records (MIB Consumer File). Life insurance underwriters use MIB’s services when assessing individual applications when they underwrite life insurance policies. Your consumer file may include the name of any MIB member company that:
- Received a copy of the medical and personal information that MIB has in its database about you during the three-year period preceding your request;
- Made an inquiry to MIB about you within the past two years.
It is free to request your MIB file. You will not have an MIB Consumer File unless you have applied for individually underwritten life, health, disability income, long-term care, or critical illness insurance within the past seven years (or earlier depending on applicable law) and the insurance company to which you applied (or its reinsurer) was an MIB member company that submitted an MIB inquiry.
If you get a letter stating you don’t have an MIB file, you can rest assured there is likely no life insurance policy out there on you.
If you do receive a file, you can look for any companies that you did not personally apply to and contact them.
Step 3: You can hire policy locator services. There are online services that for a fee will send out emails and letters to life insurance companies on your behalf to discover if there is a life insurance policy in your name. The MIB website mentioned earlier is one company that offers this service.
It costs $75 and it is important to note that the locator service generally will not report on policies with a $100,000 face amount or less, guaranteed issue life insurance policies, employer-based life insurance policies, or military-issued life insurance policies.
As you have read, it is unlikely that there is a life insurance policy out there with your name on it that you did not sign off on. So, it is unlikely that someone proceeded to buy term life insurance (or any other type of life insurance policy) on you. Life insurance companies take your privacy and security very seriously.
If you’re looking to buy term life insurance for yourself (or for your spouse or loved one), Quotacy can help you get the best term life insurance rates today.
» Compare: Term life insurance quotes
Watch the Buying Life Insurance Without Permission Video
Video Transcript
Welcome to Quotacy’s Q&A Friday where we answer your life insurance questions. Quotacy is an online life insurance agency where you can get life insurance on your terms.
I’m Jeanna and I’m Natasha.
Today’s question is:
Can someone buy life insurance on me without me knowing?
That is a great question, Jeanna, and one we get fairly often.
The short answer is no. This is because when you apply for life insurance on someone else, an insurance company is going to want to see two things: insurable interest and consent.
To buy life insurance on someone else, insurance companies require:
- Insurable interest
- Consent
And what do those two things mean?
Insurable interest essentially means that if you’re applying for life insurance on someone else the insurance company is going to want to know that they have an impact on your finances somehow.
The best example I can give is a married couple. For example, if Chad, your husband, were to pass away suddenly you’d probably have a pretty hard time paying for the mortgage on your income alone. It would be very difficult. So not only do you have an emotional interest in keeping Chad alive, but a financial one as well.
Let’s keep him around.
Probably a good idea.
So I can’t buy life insurance on great aunt Shirley in Arkansas?
If great aunt Shirley has no bearing on your finances, when you apply for life insurance on her, the insurance company is going to take a really hard look at why you’re applying and most likely decline that application.
So what about consent?
Consent’s a little bit more straightforward. When you apply for life insurance on someone, the life insurance company will want to know that you have the OK to do so.
After you fill out an application and send it in, two things happen: a phone interview and a medical exam.
Phone Interview & Medical Exam
The insurance company needs to speak to the person being insured during both of these steps, and confirm consent with them face-to-face.
Both of which are going to include steps to prove the insured’s identity and make sure that they are OK that you’re applying for life insurance on them. So it’s nearly impossible for me to buy life insurance on a complete stranger.
Correct. The life insurance industry is highly regulated and they have many measures in place to prevent insurance fraud and other nefarious schemes. Makes sense.
If you have any questions about life insurance make sure to leave us a comment. Otherwise, we’ll see you next week. Bye!
Photo credit to: Pawel Janiak
About the writer
Natasha Cornelius
Writer, Editor, and Co-host of Quotacy's Q&A Fridays
Natasha is the content manager and editor for Quotacy. She has been in the life insurance industry since 2010 and has been making life insurance easier to understand with her writing since 2014. When not at work, she's probably studying and working toward her Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) designation while throwing a tennis ball for her pitbull mix, Emmett, or curled up on her couch watching Netflix. If it’s football season, the Packers game will be on. Connect with her on LinkedIn.
My fiancés parents had a life insurance policy on him that he knew nothing about until a letter for non payment got sent to our house.. The letter got thrown away so how can I find out who it was through and if they still have it on him?
Jennifer,
In our experience, we don’t know of any insurance companies that would send a letter of nonpayment to someone other than the policyowner. The first thing you should do is just have your fiance call and ask his parents. It may be a whole life insurance policy that they purchased on him when he was a child.
Hello thanks for a reply. I went thru mean chemo and not expected to live. I was offered to stay at a brothers house and he volunteered his wifes help tho she never likes me. They were told several times by nurse,i had to be fed 4 times a day small meajs to survive. I was lucjy to get one meal a day and went 2 days twice and once 3 days with no food,being too weak to get out of bed. Half way thtu chemo,they pushed pprwk in my face,my 76k life ins policies and yelled at me to sign it. I did not. I believe cold greed got in way. I will try MIB. But,why is a lowee amount of 100k not reported?? They could have had 5 policies of 50k on me for all i know. They were really ticked i survived,by HIS grace. Thnks and God Bless you.
Ken,
I’m happy to hear you have recovered and are doing better. A valid signature is just one step in applying for life insurance. You would also have to complete a phone interview with a life insurance company representative and likely a medical exam. Rest easy knowing it would be extremely hard for your brother and sister-in-law to forge multiple policies in your name. Continue to stay strong and I wish you well.
Good for bud my brother is acting kinda funny now i still think that my brother had taken one out on myself but i can’t prove it its like hes waiting for me to die or something
My sister raised me and years ago i signed a life insurance policy. I dont have the same relationship with her and i feel like a pawn. I dont want to be on the policy any longer and I informed her of it, but I have had no response from her about it. How can I terminate the policy? I haven’t recieved any information about it in almost ten years.
Ed,
Only the policyowner has the option to terminate a life insurance policy. The policyowner has a responsibility to keep the policy inforce by paying premiums year after year so they are given control. If you know the insurance company that wrote the policy, contact them personally and see if they can assist you in any way. If you think you are in danger, contact the authorities.
Yes, I am married but have been separated from my husband since 2014. He has never paid alimony to me though he abandoned me in the middle of hip joint replacement surgery. I had seven surgeries between 2014 & 2015, resulting in my disability. And I could not walk for the three years prior to my 2014 hip surgeries We we’re only married in 2009. He works as an investigator for the D.A.’s office. He’s caused me to sell one inheritance property and lose the other to foreclosure. We used to be each other’s beneficiaries to his work related policies but recently informed me I was taken off and replaced by his son but he remains on kine. I am on ok with this but he says he owns the policy. I don’t receive support from him, nor have I ever signed a policy. He’s been forging my name to tax forms claiming me and my grown children as dependents..I’ve read some of your replies to others. Couldn’t I call his work and ask what company they use that I want to inquire about to put my affairs in order. It’s a $50,000 policy. I want to change my beneficiaries to my children. If I get any static this investigator may be investigated. Lol! I just found out I can get alimony for half the years I’ve been married to him. He’s staying married to me for a reason. I think it’s a motive for murder. What do you think?
Hello Maxine,
You have certainly been through a lot of pain and suffering over the past decade. My heart goes out to you. May you find peace and a way to work through this unfortunate situation.
As to the insurance policy, you definitely could call his work and inquire which company it is with and reach out to the insurance carrier. Since your insurance is a group policy through work it most likely is owned by him. You would know if you owned the policy because you would be paying for it. My guess is that it is a payroll deduct, which means the premium comes out of his paycheck making him the owner.
It sounds like the two of you are still married. If this is the case, and you are in a community property state, then you would have to sign to give him permission to take you off as the beneficiary of his policy. Same thing for you if you want to change the beneficiary on your policy. Half must stay with the spouse unless they sign off that it is permissible.
I am unsure what is prompting you to put your affairs in order. My hope is that you are just doing due diligence for your paperwork. If there is more to the story, then please know your life is precious. And finding a counselor to talk with can be an amazing experience that is very beneficial. We all need people to help us organize our thoughts on occasion.
Lastly, my guess is he is not staying married to you for murder. I certainly hope not! But he is staying married to you for some reason. Most likely the reason is around current money, like his paycheck.
Look for some support from your community. You need a lawyer to help you get access to his income. That’s what I would focus on rather than the insurance policies that he currently owns. If you go down the divorce path, your policy will end up in your hands along with the monthly payments.
I feel for you and will say prayers for you and your family.
My uncle brought life insurance for my grandmother, but he died so ownership transferred to my aunt. My grandmother does not like my aunt and do not want my aunt to have access to this life insurance on my grandmother. In other words, my grandmother no longer wants to give consent to the life insurance company and my aunt for the life insurance policy that was purchased. However, my grandmother is not the policy owner, so she has trouble trying to cancel the policy. How does my grandmother go about cancelling the life insurance policy where she is insured but not the owner? Thank you.
Hi Sophia,
The policyowner, in this case your aunt, has complete control over the life insurance policy. Once a life insurance policy is active, the insured (your grandmother) cannot simply withdraw his or her consent. Your grandmother should discuss the situation with your aunt. She can ask your aunt to either terminate the policy or transfer ownership to someone else, but your aunt does not need to comply. She controls the policy. If your grandmother believes your aunt may have malicious intentions in mind, however, she should contact the authorities.
Hi ,
We are concern and have been informed of my son being insured by the parents of his fiancé without his kniwrkrdge. There has been 2 attempts made against his life. How do we verify if a policy has been purchased in the state of Nevada? He has been set up and framed for the murder of his daughter by the family. They have told multiple lies surrounding the circumcunstances leading to the events of my granddaughters death. She was never evaluated for seizures and she was never treated for the seizures . He was left alone to care for 2 10 months olds with a known history of paranoid schizophrenia – bi polar dis order however the stated to the news media they had no clue or idea .
Thanks
Jenny
Jenny,
You should contact the authorities if you fear for your son’s life – especially if multiple attempts have been made against him.
It would have been extremely difficult for your son’s fiancee’s parents to purchase a policy on him because of all the obstacles in place to prevent insurance fraud, but you can still hire a policy locator service which may help ease your mind (see step 3 in the post above). Your son can also request his MIB file which would shed some light if a policy was purchased on him within the last seven years (see step 2 above).
I received a call today from an insurance company asking if I was ready to move forward with the life insurance applied for. I did not apply for this. I researched the phone number and this is a real agent in my area. I asked who submitted the application and he said the information came to him electronically so he was not sure. Is there a way to find out more info? I am concerned. Thank you.
Kristen,
This is concerning. The first question is: What information does he really have about you? Is it your common, easily found information on the internet or in a phone book? If that is the case, this “real” agent is cold calling you and trying to sell you insurance in an unethical way. I would ask the agent where he got the information from digitally. What is the name of the company that he buys leads from? And then I would ask him to send over all the information he has on you and tell him that you need it so that you can forward it to your state’s insurance commissioner along with his name. Either he is playing games and will get very uncomfortable with the line of questioning or he is being completely transparent and this should be reported to your state’s insurance commissioner.
My Mother-In-Law moved in with my wife and me. My wife’s sister is currently power of attorney. We are going to revoke her power of attorney and have us named since we are caring for her. My sister-in-law has a life insurance policy on my Mother-In-Law, there is bad blood between siblings and Mom. Once power of attorney is transferred to us are we legally obligated to furnish a death certificate so she can claim her insurance, or is she able to collect on her own and request a death certificate. My sister-in-law is refusing to communicate with her Mom or any other family member. What are our obligations as power of attorney? Are we even required to notify her of a death? We are trying to protect my Mother-In-Law and want to know our rights/responsibilities. Thanks.
Doug,
My heart goes out to everyone involved in your family. Sorry to hear that there is bad blood and stresses that are occurring near the end of your mother-in-law’s life.
Your question about what you are obligated to do as a power of attorney will be determined by state law. It sounds as though she is near the end of her life and you are contemplating what actions to take with your sister-in-law after her mother passes. I don’t know if you are responsible to furnish a death certificate to your sister-in-law by law, but it may be important for the family to share information with the estranged sister-in-law. The passing of a parent is typically one of the more impacting moments in our lives.
After mom dies, her estate will go into probate and there will be an executor of that estate. The executor of the estate has to act as a fiduciary and would be required to hand over a copy of the death certificate when it is requested. So it comes down to what kind of power of attorney you are getting on her and whether or not it includes you becoming executor of her estate. Make sure to ask your lawyer about this.
I just found out that my aunt had a life insurance policy on my dad thru his dad when his dad was alive and working for the railroad but when his dad passed away in 1981 she took it over on all the kids. She called and asked me for a death certificate on my dad so she can claim the money. She said the amount is 300.00. Is there any way I can find out all of the information on the policy and if it was on all of my aunt and uncles? No one else knows anything about this policy and she wont let us see it. I’m hurt to know she has done this without knowledge of any of the siblings. I feel they are benefiting from my dads death and to me that is low. Can you help me in the right direction to find out the information I need to put this to rest? thank you
Nellie,
I can understand that you feel hurt that your aunt has this policy and won’t let you see it. And my condolences to you and your family for losing your dad.
If the policy death benefit truly is $300 then there is not going to be any way of finding out more about this policy except by asking her for more details. A policy that small and coming through a railroad plan is not going to in any company’s records except for the insurance carrier that issued the policy. Also, when she took over the policy in 1981, she would have had to pay premiums as well. That means she has had a premium obligation for the past 35 years. I wish we had a way to share with you about how to go about getting the information, but I can’t think of any way to find it.
My suggestion is to have another conversation with your aunt and ask her about her own dad dying back in 1981. How did the policy and the premium obligation get transferred to her? What does she remember about the time? What was her dad like? Communication with her may help you understand where she is coming from and gives you an opportunity to find closure.
Please let us know if we misunderstood your question and we can discuss further. Feel free to contact us directly.
My Grandmother just recently found out that her oldest daughter has a life insurance policy on her. She did tell my Grandmother about the policy after the fact (not sure how long she has had the policy) but was told very little about the policy. Her daughter is the only beneficiary (she is one of five kids), it’s not to cover my grandmother’s final expenses, she got it because according to her my grandmother has helped her out the least financially compared to her siblings. My Grandmother never signed any insurance papers that she is aware of.
When I heard this I found it very alarming, my Aunt is planning on profiting from my grandmother’s death. So either she forged her mother’s signature or told her the papers were for something else that my grandmother was comfortable with signing.
What are your thoughts? And is there anything I can do about this situation for her? If not, what should she do?
Hi Danielle,
Your aunt likely purchased what is called a guaranteed issue life insurance policy on your grandmother. These policies are approved instantly and your grandmother’s signature may not have been required, however, these policies come with very high premium costs. Your aunt is likely paying a large premium to keep this policy inforce. Guaranteed issue policies are known as “last resort” insurance and tend to be a good deal if the insured individual dies between 3 and 8 years after it’s purchased, but by year 10 the amount paid as premiums can total more than what the benefit would be.
Although your aunt isn’t likely to profit much, if at all, off this policy, your grandmother still has the right to call the insurance company (if you know which) and voice her concerns.
NON CUSTODIAN FATHER HAS TAKEN OUT A LIFE INSURANCE POLICY ON MY 14 YO DAUGHTER WITHOUT MY CONSENT. I NEVER GAVE HIM HER SOCIAL SEC # SHE IS ON SSI.HE PAYS NO CHILD SUPPORT, HAS ALSO FRAUDULENTLY CLAIMED HER AS A DEPENDENT FOR TAX CREDIT ECT. IS SCREWING UP HER HEALTH INSURANCE WITH THESE
CONFLICTING CLAIMS AND POLICIES. SSI IS THREATENING TO TERMINATE HER BENEFITS BECAUSE OF THIS POLICY I KNEW NOTHING ABOUT. I DO NOT KNOW WHERE TO TURN OR HOW TO GET HIM OFF OF HER LIFE. WE DON’T KNOW HIS WHEREABOUTS. IT IS COURT DECLARED PATERNITY. PLEASE PRAY FOR US. WE NEED INFORMATION. THANK YOU
Val,
This is a hard situation and you and your family are in our prayers. Since life insurance is a contract between the insurance company and the owner of the policy (in this case your daughter’s biological father), it can be difficult to track down the life insurance policy without knowing the specific company it was issued from.
If you know the name of the insurance company, my first suggestion is to call the company and explain what is going on. This most likely will not lead anywhere though. But it gives you cover for step two which is calling your state’s insurance commissioner. You will have your story put together when you get a hold of that office. The question though is what do you ask them to do?
You mentioned that SSI is threatening to terminate her benefits because of this policy. Since he is not paying child support and is using her as a dependent, it sounds like he is wrecking havoc on your family finances. The insurance commissioner should be able to help if the policy is being deemed a resource even though it obviously is not in this case.
My daughters x partner violent abusive man, has taken policy out over the phone, that on her death he receives £158,000 , the letters arrived through her lettter box, she has spoke to company, who said he paid the first payment of £14 to get it up and running she knew nothing about it !!
Hi Caroline,
I’m sorry to hear about the issues your daughter is facing. Now, it sounds like you’re from the United Kingdom – we’re in the United States. Every country has its own rules and regulations regarding who can and cannot buy a life insurance policy on someone else. I suggest that your daughter call the insurer back and tell them she did not authorize this coverage and she is not comfortable with him owning the policy on her, and then ask that they cancel the coverage. I wish you and your daughter the best and hope the situation gets resolved quickly.