What to do when an Ameritas account holder dies
Report the death to Ameritas' Life Insurance and Annuity Claims at 1-800-745-1112
When an insured person dies, the beneficiary or executor should contact Ameritas' Life Insurance and Annuity Claims at 1-800-745-1112 to start the claims process. Insurance proceeds are paid directly to the named beneficiary and do not go through probate. How quickly the claim is processed depends on the policy type, documentation, and cause of death.
Death claim process
Follow these steps to file a death claim with Ameritas:
Filing a claim
- 800-745-1112, Monday-Friday, 7:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. CT
- 877-280-6110 for a policy issued by Ameritas Life Insurance Corp. of New York
- Life insurance: Ameritas mails instructions for creating an online account, used to upload documents and follow claim status at the Claimant Portal
- Annuity: Ameritas emails or mails a packet of claim materials for signature and submission, with no upload account
- Full name (first, middle, last), date of birth, date of death, and Social Security number
- The policy number and your contact information as the claimant
- Certified death certificate (original or certified copy)
- Government-issued photo ID for the beneficiary
- If a trust is the beneficiary: trust documents and trustee identification
- If the estate is the beneficiary: letters testamentary or letters of administration from the probate court
Required Documents
- Completed claim formProvided by Ameritas.
- Certified death certificateAn original or a certified copy.
- Government-issued photo ID, for the beneficiary
- Details of the insuredPolicy number, full name, date of birth, date of death, and Social Security number.
- Trust documents and trustee identification, if a trust is the beneficiary
- Letters testamentary or letters of administration, if the estate is the beneficiaryFrom the probate court.
- The deceased person's medical history, if Ameritas requests it to evaluate the claimIncluding doctors' names and dates of visits.
Claims Contact
Website: Online portal →
Forms Ameritas issues1
- Claim materials packet (claimant's statement / proof of death)
Sent by the institution on request.1
What happens to each kind of account1
- Life insurance policy
A Care4Life accelerated death benefit is claimed by phone on the claims line while the insured is living, on a qualifying chronic, critical or terminal illness. It uses the lien approach, so an acceleration reduces but does not necessarily exhaust what beneficiaries later receive.1
Accounts handled elsewhere1
- Ameritas Life Insurance Corp. of New York
Policies issued in New York1
Phone: 1-877-280-6110
Not in Ameritas's published guidance1
- How long a claim takes
Sources1
- 1.Claims
Ameritas' Life Insurance and Annuity Claims can be reached by phone at 1-800-745-1112 for questions throughout the claims process.
Sources
Data sourced from Ameritas primary sources (15 pages reviewed). How we research.
Ameritas death claims support
Life Insurance and Annuity Claims
Phone
New York policies
Hours
Mailing address
Website
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