What to do when an Elevance Health (Anthem) account holder dies
Report the death to Elevance Health (Anthem)'s Life Claims Service Center at 1-800-552-2137
When an insured person dies, the beneficiary or executor should contact Elevance Health (Anthem)'s Life Claims Service Center at 1-800-552-2137 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 a claim, contact Elevance Health (Anthem) by phone at 1-800-552-2137 or email documentation to AL-Claims@standard.com. You will need the account holder's full name, account numbers, and the death certificate.
Death claim process
To file a claim after an account holder's death, here is what Elevance Health (Anthem) requires:
Filing a claim
- The Basic Life, Optional/Additional Supplemental Life, AD&D and Supplemental AD&D amounts
- The date last worked, the date of death, and whether coverage had ended before the death
- The form asks in what capacity the claim is made: Beneficiary, Executor, Trustee or Other
- It takes a Social Security number "(for estate, trust, etc., give TIN)"
- It carries a backup-withholding certification, which the claimant crosses out if the IRS has notified them they are subject to withholding
- Online, through the Claims Service Center that the Anthem Life contact page links to
- Or by mail, with the printed Group Life Claim Package (47122MUMENLIC) from the state forms library; each state page links the same PDFs
- Or call the Life Claims Service Center at 800-552-2137 (8:00 AM - 8:00 PM ET) for the claim package
- Completed claim documents can also be faxed to 800-850-0017 or emailed to AL-Claims@standard.com
Required Documents
- Group Life Claim PackageThe Group Policyholder's Statement, completed by the employer, and a separate Beneficiary Claim Form for each beneficiary.
- Death certificateOnly one is needed, and a photocopy is accepted in most cases. An original certified copy, where Anthem Life asks for one, must be mailed even if the rest of the claim was faxed or emailed.
- Copy of the enrollment form or beneficiary designation formSupplied by the employer. A screen print is accepted for a designation made online.
- Government-issued identification for the beneficiary
- Employer name and the group policy, class or certificate number
- Estate's Tax ID number and copies of the appointment papers, where an executor or administrator files the claimLetters Testamentary or Letters of Administration. The executor or administrator signs the Beneficiary Claim Form.
- Trust name, trustee identification and the trust's TIN, where a trust is the beneficiary
- Funeral home assignment, if the beneficiary has made oneArranged with the funeral home directly and included with the claim form.
- Newspaper or online information about the loss, and a police or accident report, for an accident-based claim
Claims Contact
Website: Online portal →
Forms Elevance Health (Anthem) issues1
- Group Life Claim Package (47122MUMENLIC)
Completed by the employer and each beneficiary. Available to download.1
What Elevance Health (Anthem)'s agreement and guidance say5
- How proceeds are paid
Proceeds of $10,000 or more are paid by default into an Access Advantage account, an interest-bearing draft account, rather than by check. The beneficiary may instead "elect to receive a lump sum check mailed directly to you."1
"If the Beneficiary is an Estate or a Trust, the benefit will be paid by a check and not by the Access Advantage account." A beneficiary living outside the United States "can only be paid by check", and an Access Advantage balance below $250 is closed out by check.1
- Payment to a minor or incapacitated beneficiary
A minor beneficiary is paid into the Access Advantage account "unless otherwise directed by a Guardian of the Estate or a court."1
- What it says about taxes
Anthem Life's claim package says interest on an Access Advantage account is reported on a 1099 for amounts over $10.00.1
- Dormant and unclaimed accounts
After two years of inactivity on an Access Advantage account and no response to outreach, "your account balance may be transferred to the state according to your state's unclaimed property laws."1
- Accounts from a merged institution
The Standard assumed all liabilities under the Anthem Life policies. Existing policies and certificates stay in force with a merger endorsement, and no new certificates were issued.2
Claim checks and Explanation of Benefits statements come from The Standard. Open claims moved over automatically and need not be resubmitted; the claim teams, the life claims number and the claim submission page did not change, and claim payment and timelines were not affected.2
Not in Elevance Health (Anthem)'s published guidance1
- How long a claim takes
Sources2
Insurance Products
1 product- Individual and small-business members: "your customer service team (located on the back of your identification card)"
- Large-group members: "your dedicated service team (located on your billing statement)"
- Members with employer coverage also report the death to the employer or benefits department, which ends the plan enrollment
Required Documents
- Death certificateA certified copy.
- Member ID number and the group or contract number
- Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration, to receive a premium refund or claim payment for the estate
- Estate EIN and mailing address, for any payment issued to the estate
What happens to each kind of account1
- Health, long-term care or disability policy
Anthem's Georgia individual member contract lists as a termination event "The day following the Member's death."1
The same contract says: "When a Subscriber dies, the surviving spouse or Domestic Partner of the deceased Subscriber, if covered under the Contract, shall become the Subscriber."1
What Elevance Health (Anthem)'s agreement and guidance say2
- What it does when notified
Anthem's Georgia individual member contract says, under "Refund of Premium": "Upon termination, We shall return promptly the unearned portion of any Premium paid."1
- How proceeds are paid
Anthem's Georgia individual member contract says, under "Payment Owed to You at Death": "Upon the death of a Member, claims will be payable in Our discretion to either the Member's estate or a beneficiary designated to Us."1
The same clause continues: "If the Provider is an In-Network Provider, claims payments will be made to the Provider." Wording varies by state and plan type.1
Sources1
Applies To
Elevance Health (Anthem)'s Life Claims Service Center can be reached by phone at 1-800-552-2137, email at AL-Claims@standard.com, and fax at 1-800-850-0017 for questions throughout the claims process.
Sources
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Data sourced from Elevance Health (Anthem) primary sources (15 pages reviewed). How we research.
Elevance Health (Anthem) death claims support
Life Claims Service Center (Anthem Life)
Phone
Fax
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Mailing address
Website
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