What to do when a Penn Mutual account holder dies
Contact Penn Mutual — 7-step process, 6 required documents, and express claims (eligible life policies of $100,000 or less): payment within two business days of the phone claim, with no paperwork. standard claims: penn mutual reviews after the completed claimant statement and certified death certificate arrive; contestable-period claims (death within two years of issue or reinstatement) take longer because penn mutual reviews the application.
Client Services Center
Phone(800) 523-0650
Toll-Free(800) 523-0650
Fax(215) 956-7699
Mailing Address
The Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company, PO Box 178, Philadelphia, PA 19105 (overnight: 1600 Malone Street, Millville, NJ 08332)
WebsiteLearn more→
Client Services Center
Phone(800) 523-0650
Toll-Free(800) 523-0650
Fax(215) 956-7699
Mailing Address
The Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company, PO Box 178, Philadelphia, PA 19105 (overnight: 1600 Malone Street, Millville, NJ 08332)
WebsiteLearn more→
Death Claims Division
Phone(800) 523-0650
Toll-Free(800) 523-0650
Fax(215) 956-7699
Mailing Address
The Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company, Death Claims Division, PO Box 178, Philadelphia, PA 19105 (overnight: 1600 Malone Street, Millville, NJ 08332)
Beneficiary interest-bearing checking account (Northern Trust) activation
WebsiteNotify online→
Verified Jul 2026
Filing a death claim on a Penn Mutual policy begins with notifying the Death Claims Division at (800) 523-0650. 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.
Penn Mutual offers an online claims portal that makes the initial filing process more straightforward. Survivors can also initiate claims by phone or by mailing documentation directly.
Death claim process
Follow these steps to file a death claim with Penn Mutual:
Filing a claim
1
Find the policy or contract and note its number, and note which company issued it (The Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company, The Penn Insurance and Annuity Company, or, in New York, The Penn Insurance and Annuity Company of New York)
2
Order certified copies of the death certificate from the vital records office where the death occurred
3
Report the death using Penn Mutual's online claim intake at https://www.pennmutual.com/for-individuals-and-businesses/client-services/initiate-a-claim — it asks for the policy/contract numbers, the insured's information, the beneficiary's information and relationship to the insured, the date and circumstances of death, and the funeral home's contact information; a financial professional or a beneficiary may submit it. You can instead call the Client Services Center at (800) 523-0650.
4
Ask whether the claim qualifies for Express Claims (life policies with a death benefit of $100,000 or less, in effect since April 1, 2025):
- Penn Mutual verifies the death itself through Lexis Nexis, obituaries, and funeral home records and pays eligible claims within two business days, with no claim paperwork from the beneficiary
- Express Claims does not apply to trust beneficiaries, contestable claims (within two years of issue or reinstatement), deaths outside the U.S., minor or "all children" beneficiaries, deaths under investigation, assigned or premium-financed policies, New York insureds (a death certificate is required there), beneficiaries with only a P.O. box, or policies whose beneficiary changed in the last six months
- On a multi-beneficiary claim each beneficiary must contact Penn Mutual independently to verify identity and accept the verbal disclosures; anyone who does not respond is sent a traditional claim packet
5
For a standard claim, complete the claimant package Penn Mutual sends and return it with:
- A certified copy of the death certificate
- Government-issued photo identification for each claimant
- Trust documentation and trustee identification if a trust is the beneficiary (a trust beneficiary always takes the standard path — Express Claims is closed to trusts)
- Letters testamentary or letters of administration if the estate is the beneficiary or if no beneficiary survives
6
Choose how the proceeds are paid:
- Lump sum, an annuity settlement option, or Penn Mutual's interest-bearing checking account option
- If you elect the interest-bearing checking account, the account is held at Northern Trust: activate online access by calling 1-800-343-2551 and log in to the beneficiary portal at https://www20310.ntrs.com/raw/public/pen/login. The proceeds sit in that account earning interest until you draw them, which means the money is NOT in the beneficiary's own bank until they write a check or transfer it.
7
Send claim documents to the Death Claims Division:
- Regular mail: The Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company, Death Claims Division, PO Box 178, Philadelphia, PA 19105
- Overnight: The Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company, 1600 Malone Street, Millville, NJ 08332
- Fax: (215) 956-7699
Required Documents
- Completed Penn Mutual claimant statement / claim package
- Certified copy of the death certificate (always required for a New York insured, and for any claim outside the Express Claims path)
- Government-issued photo ID for the beneficiary
- Policy or contract number and the issuing company shown on the contract
- Trust documents and trustee identification if a trust is the beneficiary
- Letters testamentary or letters of administration if the estate is the beneficiary
Claims Contact
What to know at this institution
A claim can be started online at https://www.pennmutual.com/for-individuals-and-businesses/client-services/initiate-a-claim or by calling (800) 523-0650 — Penn Mutual uses one Client Services number for all states, including New York, so there is no separate New York claims line to hunt for. Three details matter for estates. (1) Express Claims, live since April 1, 2025, pays eligible life claims of $100,000 or less within two business days without paperwork, but it is closed to trust beneficiaries, minor beneficiaries, "all children" designations, contestable claims, assigned or premium-financed policies, and New York insureds — so an ILIT-owned policy always runs the full documentary path. (2) Beneficiaries who elect the interest-bearing checking account option receive the proceeds into an account administered by Northern Trust rather than a check: online access is activated at 1-800-343-2551 and the account is managed at https://www20310.ntrs.com/raw/public/pen/login. (3) The claim is filed against whichever company issued the contract — The Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company, The Penn Insurance and Annuity Company, or The Penn Insurance and Annuity Company of New York — which is printed on the policy.
Prepare your letter of instruction to Penn Mutual
Penn Mutual asks for a letter of instruction alongside its claim form. We prepare a transmittal cover letter and the enclosure checklist Penn Mutual requires.
Build your letter of instructionExpected timelines at Penn Mutual: Express Claims (eligible life policies of $100,000 or less): payment within two business days of the phone claim, with no paperwork. Standard claims: Penn Mutual reviews after the completed claimant statement and certified death certificate arrive; contestable-period claims (death within two years of issue or reinstatement) take longer because Penn Mutual reviews the application. 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 Penn Mutual includes Completed Penn Mutual claimant statement / claim package, Certified copy of the death certificate (always required for a New York insured, and for any claim outside the Express Claims path), and Government-issued photo ID for the beneficiary, along with additional paperwork that varies by account type. All death certificates and court documents must be certified copies.
Frequently asked questions
No, and this is the mistake Penn Mutual's own form warns about. The Owner Designation Form (PM6533) states that an ownership change does not automatically change existing beneficiary designations — to change the beneficiary you must submit a separate Penn Mutual Beneficiary Designation form. So a policy assigned to an irrevocable life insurance trust while the beneficiary line still names a spouse or child pays that individual, not the trust. Two other traps live on the same form: it revokes all previous owner designations, so any co-owner or contingent owner who is meant to stay must be restated on it, and class designations such as "my lawful children" cannot be used to name an owner. When a trust is the new owner, a Certification of Trust (PM6389) must accompany the form and the trustees sign with their title, for example "John Doe, Trustee."
No. Express Claims, which Penn Mutual put in place on April 1, 2025, lets a beneficiary file by phone with no paperwork and be paid within two business days, but it is limited to life policies with a death benefit of $100,000 or less and it specifically excludes trust beneficiaries. It also excludes minor beneficiaries and "all children" designations, contestable claims (death within two years of issue or reinstatement), deaths outside the U.S., deaths under investigation, assigned or premium-financed policies, New York insureds, beneficiaries with only a P.O. box, and policies whose beneficiary changed within the last six months. A trust-owned or trust-payable policy therefore always takes the documentary path: claimant statement, certified death certificate, trust documents, and trustee identification, mailed to the Death Claims Division at PO Box 178, Philadelphia, PA 19105, or faxed to (215) 956-7699.
Beneficiaries choose the settlement method. Besides a lump sum or an annuity settlement option, Penn Mutual offers an interest-bearing checking account option, and if a beneficiary elects it the proceeds are held in an account administered by Northern Trust rather than sent as a check. Online access is activated by calling 1-800-343-2551, and the account is managed through the Northern Trust beneficiary portal at https://www20310.ntrs.com/raw/public/pen/login. Executors and trustees should know this because the money can look "paid" while still sitting in that account: it is not in the beneficiary's own bank until they draw on it. A trustee collecting proceeds for a trust generally wants the funds moved into the trust's own account rather than left in a retained-asset checking account.
No, they are two separate institutions today. Janney Montgomery Scott was a Penn Mutual subsidiary for about 40 years, but Penn Mutual agreed to sell it to KKR in July 2024 and Janney now operates as a standalone firm. Janney no longer appears on Penn Mutual's Principal Affiliates page. The life insurance or annuity claim goes to Penn Mutual's Death Claims Division at (800) 523-0650 or PO Box 178, Philadelphia, PA 19105; the brokerage account is settled with Janney under its own estate-transfer process. Penn Mutual's remaining affiliates are The Penn Insurance and Annuity Company, The Penn Insurance and Annuity Company of New York, Vantis Life, 1847 Financial / Hornor, Townsend & Kent, and Penn Mutual Asset Management — and the claim is filed against whichever of those companies is printed on the contract.
Penn Mutual's Death Claims Division can be reached by phone at (800) 523-0650 and fax at (215) 956-7699 for questions throughout the claims process.
If the deceased held multiple Penn Mutual policies, each may require a separate claim or have different documentation requirements. The Death Claims Division can confirm which accounts require individual attention and which can be processed together.
Sources
Data sourced from Penn Mutual primary sources (22 pages reviewed). How we research.
Client Services Center
Phone(800) 523-0650
Toll-Free(800) 523-0650
Fax(215) 956-7699
Mailing Address
The Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company, PO Box 178, Philadelphia, PA 19105 (overnight: 1600 Malone Street, Millville, NJ 08332)
WebsiteLearn more→
Client Services Center
Phone(800) 523-0650
Toll-Free(800) 523-0650
Fax(215) 956-7699
Mailing Address
The Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company, PO Box 178, Philadelphia, PA 19105 (overnight: 1600 Malone Street, Millville, NJ 08332)
WebsiteLearn more→
Death Claims Division
Phone(800) 523-0650
Toll-Free(800) 523-0650
Fax(215) 956-7699
Mailing Address
The Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company, Death Claims Division, PO Box 178, Philadelphia, PA 19105 (overnight: 1600 Malone Street, Millville, NJ 08332)
Beneficiary interest-bearing checking account (Northern Trust) activation
WebsiteNotify online→
Verified Jul 2026
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