What to do when a Auto-Owners Life account holder dies
Contact Auto-Owners Life — 6-step process, 6 required documents, and life insurance claims are typically processed within 30 to 60 days after all required documentation is received. delays may occur if the policy is within the two-year contestability period, documentation is incomplete, or circumstances of death require investigation.
Auto-Owners Insurance, PO Box 30660, Lansing, MI 48909
Auto-Owners Insurance, PO Box 30660, Lansing, MI 48909
Claims Department
Auto-Owners Life Insurance Company, 6101 Anacapri Blvd., Lansing, MI 48917
When an insured person dies, the beneficiary or executor should contact Auto-Owners Life's Claims Department at 1-800-346-0346 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.
To start, call Auto-Owners Life at 1-800-346-0346. Have the account holder's full name, account numbers, and a certified death certificate ready before you call.
Death claim process
The death claim process at Auto-Owners Life works as follows:
Filing a claim
- Locate the Auto-Owners life insurance or annuity policy documents and note the policy number
- Obtain certified copies of the death certificate from the local vital records office
- Contact your independent Auto-Owners agent as soon as possible to report the death and initiate the claim
- Or call Auto-Owners Life Insurance directly at 800-346-0346 (Monday-Friday, 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM ET)
- For after-hours claims reporting, call 888-252-4626
- Life insurance claim form with policy and deceased information
- Certified death certificate
- Beneficiary identification (government-issued photo ID)
- Trust documents and trustee identification (if a trust is the beneficiary)
Required Documents
- Completed life insurance claim form (provided by Auto-Owners after claim notification)
- Certified death certificate
- Government-issued photo ID for the beneficiary
- Policy number and deceased's information
- Trust documents and trustee ID (if a trust is the beneficiary)
- Physician's statement (if policy is within the two-year contestability period)
Claims Contact
What to know at this institution
Contact your independent Auto-Owners agent first, as they can assist with the claims process and help gather required documentation. For after-hours claims reporting, call 888-252-4626. All Auto-Owners life insurance products are sold and serviced through independent agents, who serve as the primary point of contact for policyholders and beneficiaries throughout the claims process. For annuity contracts, the death-benefit payout depends on the beneficiary: a surviving spouse may elect spousal continuation of the contract, while a non-spouse beneficiary must take the proceeds under the IRC Section 72(s) distribution-at-death rules (generally the five-year rule, or life-expectancy annuitization begun within one year of death). Ask your agent which election forms apply, since the choice affects the tax timing of the annuity proceeds.
Prepare your letter of instruction to Auto-Owners Life
Auto-Owners Life asks for a letter of instruction alongside its claim form. We prepare a transmittal cover letter and the enclosure checklist Auto-Owners Life requires.
Build your letter of instructionHow long the process takes at Auto-Owners Life: Life insurance claims are typically processed within 30 to 60 days after all required documentation is received. Delays may occur if the policy is within the two-year contestability period, documentation is incomplete, or circumstances of death require investigation. The most common reason for delays is missing or incomplete documentation, so submitting everything upfront is the best way to keep things moving.
Auto-Owners Life requires several documents to process a claim, including Completed life insurance claim form (provided by Auto-Owners after claim notification), Certified death certificate, and Government-issued photo ID for the beneficiary, and additional documentation depending on the account type. Certified copies are typically needed—photocopies are generally not accepted for death certificates or court documents.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. An ILIT can own an Auto-Owners life insurance policy, removing the death benefit from the grantor's taxable estate. The trust can own the policy from inception, or an existing policy can be transferred to the trust via an assignment of ownership form, subject to a three-year lookback rule under IRC Section 2035. Once transferred, the grantor permanently relinquishes control. Auto-Owners does not establish ILITs; work with an estate attorney to create one.
Contact your independent Auto-Owners agent as soon as possible to report the death and initiate the claim. You can also call Auto-Owners Life Insurance directly at 800-346-0346 (Monday-Friday, 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM ET) or 888-252-4626 for after-hours reporting (weekdays 5:00 PM - 8:00 AM, 24 hours on weekends and holidays). You will need the policy number, a certified death certificate, and a completed claim form. Your agent will help guide you through the process.
A trust can be named as beneficiary on an Auto-Owners Individual Retirement Annuity (IRA) by submitting a Beneficiary Change Request form. However, an IRA should not be retitled into a trust during the owner's lifetime — doing so generally triggers immediate income taxation of the entire account balance. Naming the trust as beneficiary preserves the tax-deferred status during life and routes the proceeds through the trust at death.
Auto-Owners Life's Claims Department can be reached by phone at 1-888-252-4626 and fax at 1-517-323-8796 for questions throughout the claims process.
When the deceased had multiple Auto-Owners Life policies, some may need separate claims while others can be handled together. The Claims Department can clarify what's needed for each account type.
Sources
Data sourced from Auto-Owners Life primary sources (15 pages reviewed). How we research.
Auto-Owners Insurance, PO Box 30660, Lansing, MI 48909
Auto-Owners Insurance, PO Box 30660, Lansing, MI 48909
Claims Department
Auto-Owners Life Insurance Company, 6101 Anacapri Blvd., Lansing, MI 48917
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