Great Plains Life
Subsidiary of Antarctica Capital (via Midwest Holding Inc. / American Life & Security Corp.)
american-life.comWhat to do when a Great Plains Life account holder dies
Report the death to Great Plains Life's American Life & Security Corp. at 1-402-489-8266
Great Plains Life has merged with another institutionMerged, effective December 2016
Great Plains Life Assurance Company was merged into American Life & Security Corp. on December 1, 2016, per Midwest Holding Inc.'s SEC Form 10-K and the Nebraska Department of Insurance's own examination report, and no longer operates as a separate insurer. Start with American Life & Security Corp. ("American Life") in Lincoln, Nebraska -- 402-489-8266, fax 402-489-8295, 2900 South 70th Street, Suite 400, Lincoln, NE 68506 -- which holds the merger records and can locate any Great Plains Life policy. But the block moved again after the merger: American Life coinsured 100% of it to US Alliance Life and Security Company on September 30, 2017, and the SOUTH DAKOTA POLICYHOLDER portion was then assumed outright by Dakota Capital Life Insurance Company on December 31, 2020, which merged into US Alliance Life and Security Company on December 31, 2023. If the insured was a South Dakota policyholder, the claim is US Alliance's: 1-866-953-4675, fax (785) 228-0202, service@usalliancelife.com, 1303 SW First American Place, Suite 200, Topeka, KS 66604. Original Great Plains Life policy numbers are still valid on either route. American Life's parent, Midwest Holding Inc., was acquired by an affiliate of Antarctica Capital on December 21, 2023. There is no separate American Life & Security Corp. or US Alliance record in this directory yet, so no successorId is set.
A death claim on a Great Plains Life policy is filed through the American Life & Security Corp. (1-402-489-8266). Because insurance proceeds pass directly to named beneficiaries, this process is separate from probate. The required documentation and timeline vary by policy type.
The first step is contacting Great Plains Life at 1-402-489-8266 with the account holder's full name, account numbers, and the death certificate in hand.
Death claim process
To file a claim after an account holder's death, here is what Great Plains Life requires:
Filing a claim
- The insured's full legal name, date of birth, and date of death
- The original Great Plains Life policy number, which remains valid
- If the policy number is lost, ask for a policy search using the insured's name, date of birth, and Social Security number
- The state the policy was issued in, or the insured's address when they bought it. This decides which company owes the claim.
- Your name, your relationship to the insured (beneficiary, trustee, executor), and your mailing address
- Issued to a South Dakota policyholder: the claim is US Alliance Life and Security Company's. Call 1-866-953-4675 or email service@usalliancelife.com.
- Issued anywhere else: the policy is still an American Life contract and American Life pays the claim.
- If American Life cannot say which side a policy falls on, ask US Alliance to search the assumed Great Plains block by the insured's name, date of birth, and Social Security number.
- American Life & Security Corp., 2900 South 70th Street, Suite 400, Lincoln, NE 68506 (fax 402-489-8295 for supporting documents; mail the certified death certificate)
- For an assumed South Dakota policy: US Alliance Life and Security Company, 1303 SW First American Place, Suite 200, Topeka, KS 66604 (fax (785) 228-0202)
- The insured's full legal name, date of birth, and date of death
- The policy number: the original Great Plains Life number is still the servicing number
- If the policy number cannot be found, ask American Life to search the records it took over in the December 2016 merger by the insured's name, date of birth, and Social Security number
- Your name, your relationship to the insured (beneficiary, trustee, executor), and your mailing address
Required Documents
- Claimant statement from each beneficiaryMailed by American Life on request, and signed by each beneficiary.
- Certified copy of the death certificateMail the certified death certificate; the fax number is for supporting documents.
- Government-issued photo ID, for each claimant
- The original policy, if available
- Trust name, trust date, trust EIN, and the certification of trust or trust pages, if a trust is the beneficiaryThe trust pages show the acting trustee's authority, and the trustee signs as trustee.
- Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration, if the estate is the beneficiaryNaming the personal representative.
Forms Great Plains Life issues1
- Claimant statement (death claim packet)
Completed by each beneficiary. Sent by the institution on request.1
What happens to each kind of account1
- Life insurance policy
The carrier that holds the policy reviews the claim and pays the death benefit to the named beneficiary.1
Accounts handled elsewhere1
- US Alliance Life and Security Company
Great Plains Life policies issued to South Dakota policyholders, assumed in 20201
Phone: 1-866-953-4675
Email: service@usalliancelife.com
Fax: 1-785-228-0202
Mailing address: 1303 SW First American Place, Suite 200, Topeka, KS 66604
What Great Plains Life's agreement and guidance say1
- Accounts from a merged institution
Great Plains Life Assurance Company merged into American Life & Security Corp. on December 1, 2016. American Life holds the merger records and can run a policy search; the original Great Plains Life policy number is still the servicing number. Mail sent to the old Mitchell, South Dakota address will not reach anyone.1
On September 30, 2017 American Life ceded 100% of the risk on the Great Plains Life block to US Alliance Life and Security Company under coinsurance, which leaves the policyholder's contract with American Life. A policy issued outside South Dakota is still an American Life contract, and American Life pays the claim.1
On December 31, 2020 the policies "issued to South Dakota policyholders" were assumed by Dakota Capital Life Insurance Company, which merged into US Alliance Life and Security Company on December 31, 2023. Such a policy is now a US Alliance obligation. The test is the policyholder's state, not the issuing company.2
Not in Great Plains Life's published guidance6
- A procedure for reporting a death
- A department for deceased-customer accounts
- An email address for claim documents
- A claim form to download
- How long a claim takes
- Business hours
Sources2
- 1.Inquire (American Life & Security Corp.)
- 2.Second Amendment to the coinsurance agreement (assumption of the South Dakota policies)
Great Plains Life's American Life & Security Corp. can be reached by phone at 1-402-489-8266 and fax at 1-402-489-8295 for questions throughout the claims process.
Sources
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Data sourced from Great Plains Life primary sources (15 pages reviewed). How we research.
Great Plains Life death claims support
American Life & Security Corp.
Phone
US Alliance Life and Security Company claims
Fax
Mailing address
Website
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