What to do when a Kemper account holder dies
Contact Kemper's Kemper Life Customer Service (policy changes, ownership assignment, beneficiary updates) — 8-step process, 6 required documents, and benefits verified within 24 hours for most life claims; an acknowledgment letter is mailed soon after submission, and kemper provides written status updates approximately every three weeks until the claim is determined
Kemper Life Customer Service
Phone800-777-8467
Mailing Address
Kemper Life Insurance Services, 1350 Timberlake Manor Parkway, Suite 200, Chesterfield, MO 63017-6039
WebsiteLearn more→
Kemper Life Customer Service (policy changes, ownership assignment, beneficiary updates)
Phone800-777-8467
Mailing Address
Kemper Life Insurance Services, 1350 Timberlake Manor Parkway, Suite 200, Chesterfield, MO 63017-6039
WebsiteLearn more→
Kemper Life Insurance Services - Life Claims
Phone800-777-1195
Emaillifm28@kemper.com
Fax314-819-4391
Mailing Address
Kemper Life Insurance Services, 12115 Lackland Rd, St. Louis, MO 63146 (fax or email preferred over mail)
General Questions / New Claim
Funeral Home Benefit Verification Fax (Form C-0042)
Funeral Home Benefit Verification Fax (alternate)
WebsiteNotify online→
Verified Jul 2026
Filing a death claim on a Kemper policy begins with notifying the Kemper Life Customer Service (policy changes, ownership assignment, beneficiary updates) at 800-777-1195. Life insurance claims are separate from probate—proceeds transfer directly to named beneficiaries regardless of whether the estate goes through court. The timeline and documentation requirements depend on the policy type and cause of death.
Death claims at Kemper can be started through an online portal, which streamlines the initial notification and document upload. Phone and mail options are also available.
Death claim process
To file a claim after an account holder's death, here is what Kemper requires:
Filing a claim
1
Start the claim on the Kemper Life eForms portal at https://kemper.exlservice.com/equotes/ and select "Initiate a Claimant Statement (Complete a Death Claim)". This is now the primary intake channel: the "Claimant Statement" link on Kemper's own claim page points at the portal, not at a PDF. Submitting it creates an electronic Claimant's Statement (Form C-0001) that opens a claim against every Kemper Life policy on the insured
2
Have the following ready before you start the portal form:
- The policy number(s) — the electronic statement asks for the numbers of ALL policies you are claiming on, so gather them first rather than filing one claim per policy
- The insured's Social Security number, date of birth, date of death, and any other names they were known by (maiden name, nicknames, initials) — Form C-0001 asks for these to match policies written under a different name
- Cause of death, which Form C-0001 states is required before processing
- Every state the insured may have lived in (an escheat / unclaimed-property check)
- Proof of identification for the claimant
3
Disclose any assignment of the proceeds. Section 3 of Form C-0001 asks whether any portion of the proceeds has been or will be assigned to a funeral home or other party. Kemper pays assigned proceeds directly to the funeral home, so this section determines how much of the benefit actually reaches the beneficiary
4
Send a certified copy of the death certificate with the Claimant's Statement
5
If the insured left NO will and named no surviving beneficiary, the proceeds go to the estate — but Kemper publishes a Small Estate Affidavit that can avoid probate:
- Adult heirs use the Small Estate Affidavit (general): https://www.kemper.com/sites/default/files/PDFs/Small%20Estate%20Affidavit%20-%20general.pdf
- Where the heir is a minor, use the Small Estate Affidavit (minor) version: https://www.kemper.com/sites/default/files/PDFs/Small%20Estate%20Affidavit%20-%20minor.pdf
- The affiant must swear the decedent left no will, no petition for a personal representative is pending or granted, 30 days have elapsed since the death, the whole estate is under the state's small-estate dollar limit, funeral and last-illness expenses are paid, and every heir-at-law is listed
- The affidavit must be signed before a notary, and the affiant indemnifies the Kemper Life company against any loss arising from payment
6
Submit the completed Claimant's Statement, death certificate, and any affidavit:
- Through the eForms portal (preferred), or
- By fax to 314-819-4391, or by email to lifm28@kemper.com — Form C-0001 states fax or email is preferred over mail
- By mail to the address printed on Form C-0001: Kemper Life Insurance Services, 12115 Lackland Rd, St. Louis, MO 63146
7
Kemper works the claim:
- Kemper mails an acknowledgment letter shortly after receiving the claim
- An adjuster reviews the initial documentation and sends a letter identifying any additional documents needed to settle
- For most life claims, benefits are verified within 24 hours
- Kemper updates you in writing approximately every three weeks on the status of the claim
8
Once the Home Office has all necessary documentation, a determination is rendered and the proceeds are issued to the beneficiaries of record, to the estate of the insured, and/or to a funeral home or funding company as directed by the claimant
Required Documents
- Completed Claimant's Statement (Form C-0001), signed by the beneficiary, listing every policy number claimed and the insured's cause of death
- Certified copy of the death certificate
- Proof of identification for the claimant
- Notarized Small Estate Affidavit (adult or minor version) where the insured died with no will, no personal representative appointed, 30+ days have passed, and the estate is under the state small-estate limit
- Additional documentation may be required if the policy is less than 2 years old (contestability review), if an accidental death benefit applies, or if the insured was divorced
- Funeral homes and funding companies: Form C-0042 (Life Claim Benefit Verification Request)
Claims Contact
What to know at this institution
Kemper Life has moved death-claim intake to its eForms portal: the "Claimant Statement" link on kemper.com/filing-a-life-insurance-claim now points to https://kemper.exlservice.com/equotes/ rather than to a PDF, and one submission opens a claim on every applicable policy. The fillable Form C-0001 remains hosted and directs all claim documents to Kemper Life Insurance Services, 12115 Lackland Rd, St. Louis, MO 63146, with fax (314-819-4391) or email (lifm28@kemper.com) marked as preferred over mail. Two Kemper-specific wrinkles matter for estates: (1) Form C-0013 provides that if no named beneficiary is living at the insured's death, the proceeds are payable to the insured's ESTATE — dragging a policy that would otherwise pass outside probate into it; and (2) Kemper publishes its own notarized Small Estate Affidavit (separate adult and minor versions) that lets heirs collect those estate-payable proceeds without opening probate, provided the decedent left no will, no personal representative petition is pending or granted, 30 days have elapsed, the whole estate is under the state small-estate limit, funeral and last-illness expenses are paid, and all heirs-at-law are disclosed. The affiant indemnifies the Kemper Life company against loss from the payment. Form C-0001 also asks the claimant to disclose any assignment of proceeds to a funeral home; assigned proceeds are paid to the funeral home directly. Claims on policies under two years old, involving accidental death benefits, or where the insured was divorced draw additional documentation requests. For claim status call 800-777-1195; for general questions call 800-777-8467 (both Monday-Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. CT). Funeral homes and funding companies verify benefits with Form C-0042, emailed to lifm28@kemper.com or faxed to 1-866-341-6992 or 1-866-634-6992. Kemper Life Insurance Services also administers certain policies for Jackson National Life Insurance Company; those route through the same claim channels.
Prepare your letter of instruction to Kemper
Kemper provides its own letter-of-instruction form. Answer a few questions and we complete that official form for you to print and sign.
Build your letter of instructionProcessing timelines at Kemper: Benefits verified within 24 hours for most life claims; an acknowledgment letter is mailed soon after submission, and Kemper provides written status updates approximately every three weeks until the claim is determined. Incomplete documentation is the most common cause of delays—submitting all required documents with the initial claim helps avoid additional processing time.
Documentation required by Kemper includes Completed Claimant's Statement (Form C-0001), signed by the beneficiary, listing every policy number claimed and the insured's cause of death, Certified copy of the death certificate, and Proof of identification for the claimant, along with additional paperwork that varies by account type. All death certificates and court documents must be certified copies.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, and Kemper does not use a separate ILIT form. Ownership assignment runs through Section V (Change of Ownership) of the same Policy Change Form (Form C-0013) used for beneficiary and address changes, or through the "Initiate a Policy Change" flow on the Kemper Life eForms portal at https://kemper.exlservice.com/equotes/, which lists ownership changes among the changes it handles. Section V transfers "all rights, interests, claims, powers and privileges" in the policy to the trustee. Both the present owner and the new owner must sign and provide taxpayer identification numbers, so the trust needs an EIN before you file. Attach a copy of the trust agreement. The change is not valid until the Home Office records it, but once recorded it relates back to the date the policyowner signed the form. One Form C-0013 per policy number. Note that Form C-0013 says nothing about notarization for an ownership change. Consult an estate planning attorney first: the transfer is irrevocable and starts the three-year lookback under IRC 2035.
Often not. Two Kemper documents interact here. Form C-0013 provides that if no named beneficiary is living at the insured's death, the proceeds are payable to the insured's ESTATE — which normally means probate. But Kemper publishes its own notarized Small Estate Affidavit that lets heirs collect those proceeds without opening an estate. There are two versions: the general (adult) affidavit at https://www.kemper.com/sites/default/files/PDFs/Small%20Estate%20Affidavit%20-%20general.pdf, and a separate one used where the heir-at-law is a minor at https://www.kemper.com/sites/default/files/PDFs/Small%20Estate%20Affidavit%20-%20minor.pdf. The affiant swears before a notary that the decedent left no will, that no petition for a personal representative is pending or has been granted, that 30 days have elapsed since the death, that the entire estate is under the applicable state small-estate dollar limit, that funeral and last-illness expenses have been paid, and that every heir-at-law is listed. The affiant also indemnifies the Kemper Life company against any loss arising from the payment. Both forms are on Kemper's life forms page at https://www.kemper.com/my-policy/resources/Life-resources. The dollar limit and the waiting period are set by your state, not by Kemper, so check your state's small-estate threshold before filing.
The Kemper Life Legacy™ Graded Death Benefit policy pays a restricted benefit if the insured dies within the first two policy years (typically a return of premiums, not the full face amount). For estate plans that rely on the full death benefit to fund a trust, cover estate taxes, or pay final expenses, this graded period means the policy should not be the sole liquidity source during the first two years. After two years, the full death benefit is payable to named beneficiaries or a trust without restriction. Consult an estate planning attorney when incorporating this product into an estate plan to account for the graded period.
Kemper Life policies are issued by four underwriting subsidiaries: The Reliable Life Insurance Company, United Insurance Company of America, Union National Life Insurance Company, and Mutual Savings Life Insurance Company. The issuing company name appears on the policy declarations page and matters for state insurance department complaints, but you do not need to know it to file: the eForms portal at https://kemper.exlservice.com/equotes/ handles policy changes, death claims, loan requests, and EFT authorization for all four underwriters — plus policies Kemper Life Insurance Services administers on behalf of Jackson National Life Insurance Company — and a single Claimant's Statement opens a claim on every applicable policy. Paper routes differ by document type: Form C-0013 (policy change, ownership assignment to an ILIT) is submitted to Kemper Life Insurance Services, 1350 Timberlake Manor Parkway, Suite 200, Chesterfield, MO 63017-6039, while Form C-0001 (Death Claim - Claimant's Statement) directs claim documents to 12115 Lackland Rd, St. Louis, MO 63146, with fax (314-819-4391) or email (lifm28@kemper.com) preferred. For status on an open claim call 800-777-1195; for all other policy service call 800-777-8467.
Kemper's Kemper Life Insurance Services - Life Claims can be reached by phone at 800-777-1195, email at lifm28@kemper.com, and fax at 314-819-4391 for questions throughout the claims process.
If the deceased held multiple Kemper policies, each may require a separate claim or have different documentation requirements. The Kemper Life Customer Service (policy changes, ownership assignment, beneficiary updates) can confirm which accounts require individual attention and which can be processed together.
Sources
Data sourced from Kemper primary sources (18 pages reviewed). How we research.
Kemper Life Customer Service
Phone800-777-8467
Mailing Address
Kemper Life Insurance Services, 1350 Timberlake Manor Parkway, Suite 200, Chesterfield, MO 63017-6039
WebsiteLearn more→
Kemper Life Customer Service (policy changes, ownership assignment, beneficiary updates)
Phone800-777-8467
Mailing Address
Kemper Life Insurance Services, 1350 Timberlake Manor Parkway, Suite 200, Chesterfield, MO 63017-6039
WebsiteLearn more→
Kemper Life Insurance Services - Life Claims
Phone800-777-1195
Emaillifm28@kemper.com
Fax314-819-4391
Mailing Address
Kemper Life Insurance Services, 12115 Lackland Rd, St. Louis, MO 63146 (fax or email preferred over mail)
General Questions / New Claim
Funeral Home Benefit Verification Fax (Form C-0042)
Funeral Home Benefit Verification Fax (alternate)
WebsiteNotify online→
Verified Jul 2026
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