What to do when a Protective account holder dies
Contact Protective — 8-step process, 8 required documents, and claim packet sent within 2-5 business days of notification. benefit payment issued within 3-6 business days after claim approval. total processing generally about two to three weeks, though timelines vary by claim complexity and state regulations.
Protective Life Insurance Company, Life and Health Insurance Administration, P.O. Box 12687, Birmingham, AL 35202-6687
Protective Life Insurance Company, Life and Health Insurance Administration, P.O. Box 12687, Birmingham, AL 35202-6687
Life Insurance Claims
Protective Life Insurance Company, Claims, P.O. Box 12486, Birmingham, AL 35202
When an insured person dies, the beneficiary or executor should contact Protective's Life Insurance Claims 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.
Protective 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
To file a claim after an account holder's death, here is what Protective requires:
Filing a claim
- Locate the Protective policy documents and note the policy or contract number
- Obtain certified copies of the death certificate from the local vital records office or funeral home (10-15 copies recommended)
- Start a claim online at claims.protective.com (fastest method, especially with death certificate upload)
- Or call 1-800-424-1592 (Monday-Friday, 7:00 AM - 5:00 PM CT)
- Submit a certified copy of the death certificate
- If original policy cannot be located, note this in Section D of the claim form
- If death occurred outside the United States, provide official foreign death certificate, completed questionnaire, and local physician's death statement
Required Documents
- Certified copy of death certificate
- Beneficiary identification documents (government-issued ID)
- Completed claim packet (state-specific forms provided by Protective)
- Original policy or contract (if available; note in Section D of claim form if unavailable)
- Substitute W-9 form (if included in claim packet)
- Trust documents and trustee ID (if trust is the beneficiary)
- IRS Form 712 (if filing estate or gift tax returns; provides policy values as of death date)
- Foreign death certificate, questionnaire, and physician statement (if death occurred outside the US)
Claims Contact
What to know at this institution
Online filing at claims.protective.com is the fastest method; uploading a death certificate online expedites the process. Check claim status at claims.protective.com/#/claim-status. For claims under $500,000, completed claim paperwork can be emailed to claims@protective.com or faxed to 205-268-6833. For claims of $500,000 or more, mail paperwork to the claims P.O. Box. The claims process is the same regardless of whether the policy was originally issued by Protective, MONY, Athene, Equitable, Lincoln National, or Zurich. Claims within the two-year contestability period undergo routine investigation to verify underwriting information. For non-probated estates, call 1-800-424-1592 to discuss affidavit completion options. Claims appeals should reference the specific claim number and be submitted in writing. For Immediate Benefit Account inquiries after payout, contact 1-866-412-2071 or visit eaccountservices.com/Protective. Interest on proceeds is paid at the rate required by the contract or state law, whichever is greater.
Prepare your letter of instruction to Protective
Protective asks for a letter of instruction alongside its claim form. We prepare a transmittal cover letter and the enclosure checklist Protective requires.
Build your letter of instructionHow long the process takes at Protective: Claim packet sent within 2-5 business days of notification. Benefit payment issued within 3-6 business days after claim approval. Total processing generally about two to three weeks, though timelines vary by claim complexity and state regulations. The most common reason for delays is missing or incomplete documentation, so submitting everything upfront is the best way to keep things moving.
Documentation required by Protective includes Certified copy of death certificate, Beneficiary identification documents (government-issued ID), and Completed claim packet (state-specific forms provided by Protective), along with additional paperwork that varies by account type. All death certificates and court documents must be certified copies.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Protective has acquired closed blocks of life and annuity business from other carriers, so many policyholders hold a policy sold under a brand that Protective now services. Protective states that it is the same claims process for policies originally issued by Protective, MONY Life Insurance Company, Athene, Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company, The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company, and Zurich: start the claim at https://claims.protective.com or call 1-800-424-1592. Routine SERVICE, though, is split by block. MONY, MONY Life of America, and Equitable Financial policies are serviced at 1-800-487-6669 and P.O. Box 4830, Syracuse, NY 13221, and they use their own beneficiary/ownership form (Form No. 10481) rather than Protective's SVC forms. Lincoln National structured settlement annuities administered by Protective are serviced at 1-800-451-7065, P.O. Box 13694, Birmingham, AL 35202. If you are not sure which block a policy belongs to, the claims line can identify it from the policy number.
Naming the trust as beneficiary is not the same as putting the policy IN the trust, and Protective uses different forms for each. To name a trust as beneficiary, file the Beneficiary Change Request (Form SVC-102-PL) at https://myaccount.protective.com/assets/PDFs/SVC-102-PL_10.13.pdf. To transfer OWNERSHIP of a life policy to an irrevocable life insurance trust -- the step that moves the death benefit out of your taxable estate -- file the Transfer of Ownership form (Form SVC-119-PL) at https://www.lad3.protective.com/protectivelife/forms/pdf/SVC-119-PL.pdf, which conveys the policy "absolutely" to the trust. Protective requires all pages of the form, a signature witnessed by a disinterested party of legal age, the trustee's signature as new owner, and a Certificate of Trust (or the trust pages naming the trust, the trustees and successor trustees, trustee powers, any life-insurance provisions, and the signature page). If the policy is collaterally assigned, the assignee must sign or file a release of assignment. Send it to Protective Life Insurance Company, Life and Health Insurance Administration, P.O. Box 12687, Birmingham, AL 35202-6687, fax 205-268-3402, or email service@protective.com. Protective does not draft ILITs; the trust must already exist.
Protective's Beneficiary Change Request (Form SVC-102-PL) states that if no primary beneficiary survives, proceeds go to the contingent beneficiaries -- and if no contingent beneficiary survives either, the proceeds are paid to the executors, administrators, or assigns of the OWNER. That default sends the death benefit into probate, which is exactly what life insurance is usually bought to avoid. Two safeguards on the same form: name a contingent beneficiary (or a trust) as a backstop, and consider the optional common-disaster clause, which lets you require a beneficiary to survive you by up to 30 days before they can take. Note also that the form CANCELS all previous beneficiary designations, so you must re-list every beneficiary you want to keep, not just the one you are changing.
After a claim is approved, a beneficiary can take the full death benefit as a lump sum (ACH or check), place it in an Immediate Benefit Account, or split it between the two. The Immediate Benefit Account is an interest-bearing draft account with check-writing access that Protective offers on benefits of $25,000 and higher in eligible states; you must keep at least $5,000 in it to hold it open. Protective pays interest on proceeds at the rate required by the contract or state law, whichever is greater. Claim packets are sent within 2-5 business days of notification and payment is issued within 3-6 business days after approval, with the whole process generally taking two to three weeks. Claims filed within the policy's two-year contestability period get a routine investigation of the original underwriting answers, which extends the timeline. For Immediate Benefit Account questions after payout, call 1-866-412-2071 or go to https://www.eaccountservices.com/Protective.
Protective's Life Insurance Claims 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 Protective policies, some may need separate claims while others can be handled together. The Life Insurance Claims can clarify what's needed for each account type.
Sources
Data sourced from Protective primary sources (28 pages reviewed). How we research.
Protective Life Insurance Company, Life and Health Insurance Administration, P.O. Box 12687, Birmingham, AL 35202-6687
Protective Life Insurance Company, Life and Health Insurance Administration, P.O. Box 12687, Birmingham, AL 35202-6687
Life Insurance Claims
Protective Life Insurance Company, Claims, P.O. Box 12486, Birmingham, AL 35202
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