What to do when a Liberty Mutual account holder dies
Report the death to Liberty Mutual's Claims Service Center at 1-800-424-1592
When an insured person dies, the beneficiary or executor should contact Liberty Mutual's Claims Service Center at 1-800-424-1592 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.
Death claim process
To file a claim after an account holder's death, here is what Liberty Mutual requires:
Filing a claim
- Policy bought through Liberty Mutual's partnership with Ethos: Ethos says the beneficiary contacts the insurance company named on the policy to file the claim.
- The carriers Ethos names are Banner Life (formerly Legal & General America), Protective, North American Company for Life and Health Insurance, TruStage (CMFG Life and MEMBERS Life) and Ameritas.
- Individual life policy or annuity from Liberty Life Assurance Company of Boston: Protective administers contracts "issued by Liberty/Lincoln", so the claim goes to Protective.
- Group coverage from Liberty's former Group Benefits business: Lincoln Financial Group kept that business under the 2018 agreement.
- Section C: the payment method. With no option selected, payment defaults to a lump sum by check
- Section D: the documents enclosed, including a note if the original policy, or a copy, cannot be found
- Section E: the substitute IRS Form W-9, which has a Trust/Estate box for a beneficiary that is not an individual
- Section G and the enclosed HIPAA authorization: only if the insured died within 2 years of the policy issue date
- Life insurance: Protective, PO Box 12687, Birmingham, AL 35202-6687
- Life insurance payments: Protective, PO Box 2224, Birmingham, AL 35246
- Auto and home billing: Liberty Mutual Insurance Group, Personal Market - RPC, PO Box 1604, New York, NY 10116-1604
Required Documents
- Claimant Statement (Protective form PL-CS-AE-2024-04), one for each beneficiarySigned before a witness who is unrelated and of legal age. Section E is a substitute IRS Form W-9.
- Certified copy of the death certificateIssued by the appropriate government entity, such as a county health department or vital statistics department. An original is required for payments of $500,000 or more, and Protective cannot return death certificates.
- Beneficiary identification documents
- Original policy or contract, if availableIf it cannot be found, mark that in Section D of the Claimant Statement.
- HIPAA authorization and Section G of the Claimant Statement, the insured died within two years of the policy issue date
- Trust document and all amendments, or a Certificate of Trust, a trust is the beneficiaryProtective also accepts the first page, the page naming the trustee and successor trustee, and the signature page. The trustee signs as trustee; a trust no longer in effect sends its dissolution paperwork.
- Copy of the court appointment and qualification, the estate is the beneficiaryThe court-appointed executor, administrator or personal representative signs the Claimant Statement.
- Court-appointed guardianship or conservatorship papers, the beneficiary is a minor or mentally incompetentFor a minor, the papers are for the minor's estate and custody papers are not accepted. For an incompetent beneficiary, durable power of appointment papers are also accepted.
- Death certificate of the primary beneficiary, the primary beneficiary died before the insured
- Copy of the divorce decree, the beneficiary is an ex-spouse or ex-domestic partner
- Statement of the creditor's interest in the policy, a creditor is the beneficiary
- Police or investigation reports and the coroner report, the death was a suicide or homicide
- Voided check, ACH payment is selected
- Foreign death certificate, abroad questionnaire and the certifying doctor's statement, the insured died outside the USThe official death certificate from the country of death, a completed Death of a US Citizen Abroad Questionnaire and Proof of Death, and the certifying doctor's statement. Call a claims specialist first.
Claims Contact
Website: Online portal →
Forms Liberty Mutual issues1
- Protective Life Claimant Statement (form PL-CS-AE-2024-04)
Completed by each beneficiary. Available to download.1
What happens to each kind of account3
- Life insurance policy
Ethos, Liberty Mutual's life insurance partner, is a licensed producer and third-party administrator. It says it leaves the insuring to the insurance companies it works with.2
Under a January 2018 agreement, Lincoln Financial Group agreed to acquire Liberty Life Assurance Company of Boston, keep its Group Benefits business and reinsure its Individual Life and Annuity business to Protective Life Insurance Company.3
- Annuity
Protective takes annuity claims through the same claims process as life insurance claims.4
- Auto, home or renters policy
Liberty Mutual handles a policy cancellation by phone and says "the process and possible fees for policy cancellation varies according to the insurance regulations in your state."5
Accounts handled elsewhere4
- Ethos
General questions on life policies sold through Liberty Mutual's partnership with Ethos6
Phone: 1-888-384-6754
Email: support@ethoslife.com
- Protective policy service for Liberty/Lincoln contracts
Policy service on contracts "Issued by Liberty/Lincoln and administered by Protective"7
Phone: 1-800-866-9933
Email: service@protective.com
Mailing address: P.O. Box 12687, Birmingham, AL 35202-6687
- Protective Immediate Benefit Account service
An Immediate Benefit Account opened for a beneficiary on a Protective claim7
Phone: 1-866-412-2071
Mailing address: P.O. Box 535299, Pittsburgh, PA 15253-5299
- Lincoln Financial Group
Liberty Life Assurance Company of Boston's former Group Benefits business, kept by Lincoln in 20183
What Liberty Mutual's agreement and guidance say5
- How proceeds are paid
A claim of $25,000 or more may go into an Immediate Benefit Account, an interest-bearing draft account with access to the full balance. It holds death-benefit funds only and closes automatically, forwarding the balance, once it falls below $5,000.1
If the primary beneficiary died before the insured, the proceeds are normally paid to the contingent beneficiary. A creditor beneficiary takes the whole amount if its interest exceeds the proceeds; otherwise the rest goes to the other named beneficiaries.1
- Payment to a minor or incapacitated beneficiary
For a beneficiary under 18, the Claimant Statement is signed by a person named as guardian or conservator, with the court papers for the minor's estate.1
- Contestability of a recent policy
If the insured died within 2 years of the policy issue date, Section G of the Claimant Statement asks when the illness that caused the death began and which doctors treated the insured.1
- Wills, probate and small estates
If the estate is not being probated, Protective asks the family to speak to a claims specialist, who will advise completing an affidavit or guide the family to have the estate probated.4
- Telling the institution
Protective says there is technically no limit on how long a beneficiary has to file a claim, and that it prefers to be notified as soon as possible.4
Sources7
- 1.Protective Life Claimant Statement (PL-CS-AE-2024-04), 04.2024
- 2.Our Life Insurance Carriers | Ethos Life
- 3.Lincoln Financial Group Signs Agreement to Acquire Liberty Life Assurance Company of Boston, January 19, 2018
- 4.Life insurance and annuity claims | Protective
- 5.Cancelling Your Policy | Liberty Mutual
- 6.Contact Us | Ethos life
- 7.Contact us: Customer service & support | Protective
Protective says the claims process generally takes about 2 to 3 weeks, and that because each claim is different it cannot give an exact timeline.
Liberty Mutual's Claims Service Center can be reached by phone at 1-800-424-1592, email at claims@protective.com, and fax at 1-205-268-6833 for questions throughout the claims process.
Sources
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Data sourced from Liberty Mutual primary sources (16 pages reviewed). How we research.
Liberty Mutual death claims support
Claims Service Center
Phone
Ethos general questions (policies sold through Ethos)
Protective Immediate Benefit Account
Liberty Mutual auto or home policy
Fax
Hours
Mailing address
Website
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