Estate planning at Gerber Life
How to protect 7 Gerber Life accounts — manage beneficiaries online, fund a trust by mail, and file claims through Gerber Life's Life Claims Processing Unit
445 State Street, Fremont, MI 49412
Life Claims Processing Unit
445 State Street, Fremont, MI 49412
Death Claims
Gerber Life Insurance Company, Life Claims Processing Unit, 445 State Street, Fremont, MI 49412
Gerber Life offers 7 insurance products that play a central role in estate planning. Because policy proceeds pass directly to named beneficiaries—bypassing probate entirely—keeping designations current is one of the highest-impact steps policyholders can take.
Managing beneficiaries at Gerber Life is straightforward—changes can be made online, by mail, and by phone, typically taking 10-15 minutes to complete the form online; faxed documents may take up to 48 business hours to be viewable in the system. Trust funding is also available, allowing families to name a trust as the policy beneficiary or establish an irrevocable life insurance trust (ILIT).
There are two sides to estate planning at Gerber Life: setting things up while you're alive, and the process survivors follow after a death.
Preparing your estate
Beneficiaries and trust funding
How to manage beneficiaries online, fund a trust by mail, and review 7 account types at Gerber Life.
View details →When someone dies
Death claim process
Contact Gerber Life's Life Claims Processing Unit to file a claim. 4-step process, 5 required documents, and contact information for survivors.
View details →For questions about any of these procedures, contact Gerber Life's Life Claims Processing Unit at 1-800-628-0560.
Frequently asked questions
The adult who applies (parent, grandparent, or permanent legal guardian) is the policyowner and pays the premiums. The insured child is not the owner. Ownership transfers to the insured at age 21, when the child becomes the policyowner and can keep the policy, borrow against cash value, or surrender it. Until that transfer, the parent-owner designates the beneficiary on the policy. The same age-21 transfer rule applies to the Young Adult Plan (insured ages 15 to 17).
Log in to Gerber Life eService at https://www.gerberlife.com/customer-service, go to "My Policies," select "Manage This Policy," and click "Update" next to Beneficiary. The portal generates a Change of Beneficiary form that you must print, sign, and either mail to Gerber Life Insurance Company, 445 State Street, Fremont, MI 49412 or fax to 231-928-3078. All policy owners must sign. To name a trust, provide the full legal trust name, date established, and trust EIN. For child policies (Grow-Up, Young Adult), only the policyowner-parent can change the beneficiary until ownership transfers to the insured at 21.
Sources
Data sourced from Gerber Life primary sources (23 pages reviewed). How we research.
445 State Street, Fremont, MI 49412
Life Claims Processing Unit
445 State Street, Fremont, MI 49412
Death Claims
Gerber Life Insurance Company, Life Claims Processing Unit, 445 State Street, Fremont, MI 49412
Estate planning articles
Learn how to protect your Gerber Life accounts and other assets with trusts, beneficiary designations, and estate planning documents.
