What to do when an Aetna account holder dies
Report the death to Aetna Voluntary Plans at 1-866-292-3374
Filing a death claim on a Aetna policy begins with notifying Aetna Voluntary Plans at 1-866-292-3374. Life insurance claims are separate from probate—proceeds transfer directly to named beneficiaries regardless of whether the estate goes through court. The timeline and documentation requirements depend on the policy type and cause of death.
Death claim process
The death claim process at Aetna works as follows:
Filing a claim
- The packet opens with the Life Insurance Claim Submission Instructions and a Submission Checklist
Required Documents
- Proof of Death claim formCompleted and signed by the employer or an authorized employer representative, with all sections completed.
- Copy of the certified death certificate including cause and manner of deathThe original death certificate is not required; a faxed copy is sufficient.
- Most current beneficiary designation form, card, or electronic screen-printIt names the insured's beneficiaries and should be on file with the employer or Aetna.
- Enrollment information, if applicable
- Copy of the birth certificate and Social Security card, if the beneficiary is a minor child
- Letters of Guardianship or conservatorship of the estate of the minor child, if the beneficiaries are minor children (older GC-1373-4 revision)
- Copy of the beneficiary's death certificate, if the designated beneficiary has died
- Notarized Aetna Affidavit of Sole Survivors, if no beneficiary was named or none survives the insured, and the policy provides for payment to next of kinCompleted by a family representative.
- Letters of administration or testamentary, with the estate EIN, if the beneficiary is the insured's estateCourt papers naming the administrator or executor, with the tax ID number of the estate.
- Copy of the trust, any amendments to the trust, and the trust tax ID number, if the beneficiary is a trustThe trust tax ID number if one is available.
- Letter of acceptance from the trustee, if the beneficiary is a trust (older GC-1373-4 revision)
- Police or accident report, autopsy report, newspaper articles, and toxicology report, if accidental death benefits are being claimedThe toxicology report is not required if the deceased was a passenger in a motor vehicle accident.
- Copy of the funeral home or cemetery assignment, if there is a funeral home or cemetery assignment or re-assignmentThe assignment should include Aetna's name and the control or policy number; the form asks for the funeral home's name, address, phone and tax ID number.
- Copy of the assignment of ownership, if ownership of the policy was assigned to another party
Forms Aetna issues2
- Proof of Death - Group Life Insurance and Group Accidental Death Benefit Request (GC-1373-14)
Completed by the employer or an authorized employer representative. Available to download.1
- Proof of Death - Group Life Insurance and Group Accidental Death Benefit Request, older revision (GC-1373-4)
Completed by the employer. Available to download.2
Accounts handled elsewhere1
- The Hartford, Group Life Claims
Certain group benefits business written by Aetna Life Insurance Company3
Phone: 1-888-563-1124
Email: gbclaimcslife@thehartford.com
Fax: 1-866-954-2621
Mailing address: The Hartford, Group Life Claims, P.O. Box 14299, Lexington, KY 40512-4299
What Aetna's agreement and guidance say2
- Telling the institution
Aetna states the Proof of Death claim form "cannot be filled out or signed by the insured/employee, or a beneficiary." The employer or an authorized employer representative completes and signs it.1
- How proceeds are paid
The form directs the benefit payment to the beneficiaries, to "Other," or to the employer with the checkbook to the beneficiary only.1
Not in Aetna's published guidance2
- How long a claim takes
- An online way to report a death
Sources3
- 1.Proof of Death - Group Life Insurance and Group Accidental Death Benefit Request (GC-1373-14), with the Life Insurance Claim Submission Instructions and Submission Checklist, GC-1373-14 (4-18)
- 2.Proof of Death - Group Life Insurance and Group Accidental Death Benefit Request (GC-1373-4), GC-1373-4 (2-14)
- 3.The Hartford, Participant Accident Death, Dismemberment, Injury and/or Sickness Claim Form (LC-7694-4), 12/2020
Aetna Voluntary Plans can be reached by phone at 1-866-292-3374 and fax at 1-859-455-8650 for questions throughout the claims process.
Sources
Data sourced from Aetna primary sources (12 pages reviewed). How we research.
Aetna death claims support
Aetna Voluntary Plans
Phone
Toll-free
Number printed on the older GC-1373-4 (2-14) form
The Hartford, Group Life Claims (if the policy transferred)
Fax
Hours
Mailing address
Website
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