What to do when a Allstate account holder dies

Three ways to open it: file the first notice of loss online at claims.protective.com (Protective calls this the fastest route and the same portal tracks status), call Protective claims at 800-424-1592 (Monday-Friday, 7:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. CT) or Allstate Life Claims at 800-366-3495 (Monday-Friday, 9:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m. ET), or have the Allstate agent email the Life Claim New Loss Report (ALR5253-3) to LifeClaimReports@allstate.com -- that form states it must be emailed, not faxed. Protective then verifies the beneficiaries of record and mails a claim packet to each one within 2-5 business days (three business days on an agent-submitted report). The forms are not downloadable; each beneficiary signs their own. Return the packet with a certified death certificate, the original policy if you have it, and the substitute W-9 if enclosed: under $500,000, email claims@protective.com or fax 205-268-6833; at $500,000 or more, mail Claims, P.O. Box 12486, Birmingham, AL 35202. Expect roughly two to three weeks once Protective has everything, with payment issued 3-6 business days after approval.

Yes, on the individual policies sold through Allstate agents and underwritten by Protective Life -- and it takes paper, not a portal. Naming the trust as BENEFICIARY uses the Change of Beneficiary form SVC-102-PL (all pages must be returned; mail to Protective Life Insurance Company, Life and Health Insurance Administration, P.O. Box 12687, Birmingham, AL 35202-6687, fax 205-268-3402, or email service@protective.com), entering the trust name, trust date, and trust EIN in place of a person. Making the trust the OWNER is a separate ownership-transfer request through the same service desk (800-866-9933) or your agent. Two cautions: transferring an existing policy into an ILIT starts the three-year lookback under IRC Section 2035, so the death benefit comes back into your taxable estate if you die within three years -- having the trustee apply as owner from inception avoids that -- and Allstate does not create ILITs, so the trust has to be drafted by an estate attorney first. A legacy Everlake or Wilton Re policy has to be assigned through that carrier instead.

You can -- request the Change of Beneficiary form (SVC-102-PL) from your Allstate agent or Protective annuity service at 800-456-6330 and enter the full legal trust name, the date the trust was established, and the trust EIN (the EIN and date are not required to complete the designation, but they will be required before the money is disbursed). Understand what the designation costs, though: a trust is a non-natural beneficiary. There is no spousal continuation through a trust, and no life-expectancy stretch -- under IRC Section 72(s) the death benefit generally has to come out in a lump sum or within five years of the owner's death, with the deferred gain taxed on the way out. If your goal is simply to keep the money out of probate and your spouse is the intended recipient, naming the spouse directly usually preserves options a trust designation destroys. Retitling the annuity itself into a revocable trust is not the play either: IRC Section 72(u) strips tax deferral from most non-natural owners.

No, and no. Auto, home, and renters policies are property-casualty coverage: they pay for damage and liability while the insured is alive and carry no death benefit, so there is no beneficiary designation to make and nothing for a trust to receive. What passes to your heirs is the CAR or the HOUSE, by title -- a vehicle transfer-on-death designation, a transfer-on-death deed, joint title, a trust deed, or probate. If you deed your home into a revocable trust, the trust and trustee should be added to the homeowners policy as an insured or additional interest, which is an agent transaction, not a beneficiary form. After a death, Allstate's own survivor guide directs families to talk to their agent about changes to home and auto coverage: the policy has to be rewritten in the name of whoever now holds title, and premium refunds on a cancelled policy are an estate asset.