Estate planning and settlement at Great American Life
Name beneficiaries by phone, fund a trust by phone, and report a death at 1-800-854-3649
Great American Life is now MassMutualRebranded, effective October 2022
Great American Life Insurance Company was acquired by Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company in May 2021 and changed its name to MassMutual Ascend Life Insurance Company effective on or about October 3, 2022. It is the same legal entity under a new name and remains a wholly owned MassMutual subsidiary in Cincinnati, Ohio. Existing Great American Life contract numbers, policy terms, and benefits are unchanged. Use MassMutual Ascend for all servicing: annuity contracts 800-854-3649, life insurance policies 888-863-5891, death claims 800-854-3649 (fax 513-412-5122, ClaimDocs@mmascend.com), P.O. Box 5420, Cincinnati, OH 45201-5420. Note the separate MassMutual (Springfield, MA) record covers policies written by the parent company, not by Great American Life / MassMutual Ascend.
With 18 products relevant to estate planning, Great American Life policyholders need to understand how beneficiary designations control where proceeds go. These designations override a will, so the names on file with Great American Life are what determine who receives the death benefit.
Beneficiary designations at Great American Life can be managed by phone and by mail. 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 Great American Life: setting things up while you're alive, and the process survivors follow after a death.
Beneficiaries and trust funding
How to update beneficiaries by phone, fund a trust by mail, and review 18 account types at Great American Life.
Preparing your estate →Death claim process
Report the death to Great American Life's Claims Department at 1-800-854-3649. The page lists the steps and the documents to send.
When someone dies →
Sources
Data sourced from Great American Life primary sources (16 pages reviewed). How we research.
Great American Life customer support
Customer Service (MassMutual Ascend, formerly Great American Life)
Phone
Life Insurance Customer Service
Registered Index-Linked and Variable Annuities
Pension Annuities
Hours
Mailing address
Website
Estate planning articles
Learn how to protect your Great American Life accounts and other assets with trusts, beneficiary designations, and estate planning documents.
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