What to do when a Liberty Mutual account holder dies
Contact Liberty Mutual's Life Insurance Policy Service — 4-step process, 8 required documents, and ethos-issued policies: timeline depends on the issuing carrier. protective life / legacy policies: a claim packet is sent within 2-5 business days of notification; payment is issued within 3-6 business days after approval; the overall process generally takes 2-3 weeks when all paperwork is complete. there is no time limit for a beneficiary to file a death claim.
Liberty Mutual Life Insurance Customer Service
Phone1-800-290-8711
Toll-Free1-800-290-8711
Mailing Address
Liberty Life Assurance Company of Boston, 100 Liberty Way, Dover, NH 03820
Liberty Mutual General Customer Service
Liberty Mutual / Liberty Life Policyholder Services
Liberty Mutual Life Insurance Sales
Protective Life Policy Service (legacy policies)
Protective Life Claims (legacy policies)
WebsiteLearn more→
Life Insurance Policy Service
Phone1-800-451-7065
Mailing Address
Liberty Life Assurance Company of Boston, 100 Liberty Way, Dover, NH 03820
Ethos Customer Support (new policies, via help.ethos.com)
Protective Life Policy Service (legacy policies)
WebsiteLearn more→
Protective Life Claims (legacy policies) / Ethos issuing carrier (new policies)
Phone1-800-424-1592
Fax205-268-6833
Mailing Address
Claims, P.O. Box 12486, Birmingham, AL 35202
Ethos help center (new policies, April 2026+)
WebsiteNotify online→
Verified May 2026
When an insured person dies, the beneficiary or executor should contact Liberty Mutual's Life Insurance Policy Service 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 claims at Liberty Mutual 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 Liberty Mutual requires:
Filing a claim
1
Determine which servicer handles the policy:
- Ethos-issued policies (April 2026 and later, sold through Liberty Mutual): start a claim through the Ethos help center at help.ethos.com; Ethos routes the claim to the issuing carrier (Legal & General America, Ameritas, CMFG Life, or Senior Life Insurance Company) for processing
- Legacy Protective Life / Liberty Life Assurance policies (issued before 2018): file at claims.protective.com or call 1-800-424-1592 (Monday-Friday 7:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. CT)
2
For Ethos-issued policies: notify Ethos and the issuing carrier
- Begin a claim through the Ethos account at ethos.com or contact Ethos customer support at help.ethos.com
- Provide the insured's name, date of birth, date of death, and policy number(s)
- Ethos identifies the issuing carrier and provides the claim packet from that carrier (the issuing carrier processes payment, not Ethos)
- Submit required documentation directly to the issuing carrier per the instructions in the claim packet
3
For legacy Protective Life / Liberty Life Assurance policies: contact Protective Life at 1-800-424-1592 or file at claims.protective.com
- Protective Life sends a claim packet to the designated beneficiary within 2-5 business days of loss notification
- Complete the claim form included in the packet and submit with required documentation
- For claims under $500,000, email completed paperwork to claims@protective.com or fax to 205-268-6833 for fastest processing
- For claims over $500,000 or if mailing, send to: Claims, P.O. Box 12486, Birmingham, AL 35202
- Upon approval, payment is issued within 3-6 business days by check or electronic transfer
4
Gather required documentation (applies to both servicers):
- Certified copy of the death certificate
- Government-issued identification for the beneficiary
- Policy number and insured's personal information
- If a trust is the beneficiary: copy of the trust agreement and trust tax ID
- If the estate is the beneficiary: letters testamentary or letters of administration, and estate tax ID
- If a minor is the beneficiary: claimant's statement from an adult family member
Required Documents
- Certified copy of the death certificate
- Government-issued identification for the beneficiary
- Policy number and insured's name, date of birth, and date of death
- Completed claim form (provided in claim packet by the issuing carrier)
- Original policy or contract document (if available)
- Copy of trust agreement and trust tax ID (if a trust is the beneficiary)
- Letters testamentary or letters of administration, and estate tax ID (if the estate is the beneficiary)
- Claimant's statement from an adult family member (if a minor is the beneficiary)
Claims Contact
New life insurance policies issued through Liberty Mutual as of April 23, 2026 are sold through the Ethos partnership and underwritten by one of Ethos's partner carriers (most commonly Legal & General America / Banner Life or Ameritas Life Insurance Corp.; CMFG Life and Senior Life Insurance Company also participate). Death claims for Ethos-issued policies are processed by the issuing carrier; Ethos coordinates the intake. Legacy policies issued before 2018 are underwritten by Protective Life Insurance Company (Liberty Life Assurance Company of Boston); death claims for these policies are processed through Protective Life. A claim may be subject to a contestability review if the insured dies within two years of the policy issue date. For group life insurance claims, Liberty Mutual provides a secure online portal for beneficiaries with step-by-step claim instructions and access to financial, legal, and grief counseling resources. For Ethos-issued policies with a trust beneficiary, the trust agreement and trust tax ID are typically required at the time of claim by the issuing carrier.
Expected timelines at Liberty Mutual: Ethos-issued policies: timeline depends on the issuing carrier. Protective Life / legacy policies: a claim packet is sent within 2-5 business days of notification; payment is issued within 3-6 business days after approval; the overall process generally takes 2-3 weeks when all paperwork is complete. There is no time limit for a beneficiary to file a death claim. Delays are almost always caused by incomplete paperwork—gathering all required documents before filing the initial claim helps avoid back-and-forth.
Documentation required by Liberty Mutual includes Certified copy of the death certificate, Government-issued identification for the beneficiary, and Policy number and insured's name, date of birth, and date of death, along with additional paperwork that varies by account type. All death certificates and court documents must be certified copies.
Frequently asked questions
Liberty Mutual sold its individual life insurance business to Protective Life Corporation in 2018. Legacy policies issued before the sale are serviced through Liberty Life Assurance Company of Boston, which operates as a Protective Life subsidiary at 100 Liberty Way, Dover, NH 03820. For beneficiary changes on a legacy policy, call Liberty Mutual Policyholder Services at 1-800-451-7065 (Monday-Friday 8:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. ET) or download the Beneficiary Change Request Form and mail it to Liberty Life Assurance Company of Boston, 100 Liberty Way, Dover, NH 03820 (fax: 1-603-749-9759). For death claims on a legacy policy, contact Protective Life at 1-800-424-1592 or file online at claims.protective.com.
As of April 23, 2026, new direct-to-consumer life insurance offered through Liberty Mutual is bound by Ethos, a digital life insurance platform that operates as a licensed agency and third-party administrator. Ethos does not underwrite policies itself; instead, its underwriting engine selects an issuing carrier for each application. The carrier shown on your policy documents is the company that actually holds the contract and processes claims. Ethos's carrier partners include Legal & General America (also known as Banner Life), Ameritas Life Insurance Corp., TruStage Financial Group (CMFG Life), and Senior Life Insurance Company. Check your policy or your Ethos account at ethos.com to confirm the issuing carrier before initiating a beneficiary change or death claim.
An ILIT can own life insurance policies obtained through Liberty Mutual, whether issued through the Ethos partnership (new policies) or by Protective Life / Liberty Life Assurance (legacy policies). To avoid the three-year lookback rule under IRC Section 2035 — which includes transferred policy proceeds in the insured's estate if death occurs within three years of the transfer — the ILIT trustee should apply as the policy owner from inception rather than transferring an existing policy into the trust. For legacy policies, an ownership transfer to an ILIT is possible; contact Policyholder Services at 1-800-451-7065 to request an ownership change form and complete the Trust Certification Form. Liberty Mutual does not establish ILITs; consult an estate attorney.
When a trust is named as the life insurance beneficiary, the trustee must provide additional documentation beyond a standard claim. For Ethos-issued policies (new policies), file the first notice of loss through ethos.com or help.ethos.com; the issuing carrier will require a copy of the trust agreement, the trust tax ID, and trustee identification at the time of claim. For legacy Protective Life / Liberty Life Assurance policies, include trust documents and trustee identification along with the completed claim form and certified death certificate; contact Protective at 1-800-424-1592 or file at claims.protective.com. If the trust is also the estate's representative, letters testamentary or letters of administration may be required.
Liberty Mutual's Protective Life Claims (legacy policies) / Ethos issuing carrier (new policies) can be reached by phone at 1-800-424-1592, email at claims@protective.com, and fax at 205-268-6833 for questions throughout the claims process.
When the deceased had multiple Liberty Mutual policies, some may need separate claims while others can be handled together. The Life Insurance Policy Service can clarify what's needed for each account type.
Liberty Mutual Life Insurance Customer Service
Phone1-800-290-8711
Toll-Free1-800-290-8711
Mailing Address
Liberty Life Assurance Company of Boston, 100 Liberty Way, Dover, NH 03820
Liberty Mutual General Customer Service
Liberty Mutual / Liberty Life Policyholder Services
Liberty Mutual Life Insurance Sales
Protective Life Policy Service (legacy policies)
Protective Life Claims (legacy policies)
WebsiteLearn more→
Life Insurance Policy Service
Phone1-800-451-7065
Mailing Address
Liberty Life Assurance Company of Boston, 100 Liberty Way, Dover, NH 03820
Ethos Customer Support (new policies, via help.ethos.com)
Protective Life Policy Service (legacy policies)
WebsiteLearn more→
Protective Life Claims (legacy policies) / Ethos issuing carrier (new policies)
Phone1-800-424-1592
Fax205-268-6833
Mailing Address
Claims, P.O. Box 12486, Birmingham, AL 35202
Ethos help center (new policies, April 2026+)
WebsiteNotify online→
Verified May 2026
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