What to do when a Transamerica account holder dies
Contact Transamerica — 4-step process, 8 required documents, and varies by claim complexity and documentation completeness
Life Insurance Policy Questions
Transamerica, 4333 Edgewood Road NE, Cedar Rapids, IA 52499
Life Insurance Policy Questions
Transamerica, 4333 Edgewood Road NE, Cedar Rapids, IA 52499
Life Insurance Claims (Transamerica Life Insurance Company)
Transamerica, 4333 Edgewood Road NE, Cedar Rapids, IA 52499
Filing a death claim on a Transamerica policy begins with notifying the Life Insurance Claims (Transamerica Life Insurance Company) at 1-800-797-2643. 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.
Transamerica provides an online portal for initiating death claims, which can simplify the initial notification and document submission process. Claims can also be started by phone or by mailing the required documents.
Death claim process
To file a claim after an account holder's death, here is what Transamerica requires:
Filing a claim
- Individual life insurance: 800-797-2643 (Mon-Fri, 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.); outside the U.S. 319-355-8511
- Individual annuities: 800-525-6205 (Mon-Thu, 8 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.; Fri, 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.); outside the U.S. 319-355-8466
- Workplace retirement plan (401(k), 403(b), 457): 800-755-5801 (Mon-Fri, 8 a.m. - 8 p.m.). IRA: 866-300-0028
- Employer group life, disability, or supplemental health: Employee Benefits at 888-763-7474 (Mon-Fri, 8 a.m. - 7 p.m.) — a different claims operation from individual life
- A New York policy is issued by Transamerica Financial Life Insurance Company (Harrison, NY), not Transamerica Life Insurance Company — the claim form set is entity-specific and state-specific
- Online: https://myta.transamerica.com/public/death_claim.aspx
- It collects the insured's name, SSN, date of birth, and policy number(s); the reporting party's contact details; the beneficiary's name, relationship, address and contact details; and the date, cause, and place of death, whether the death was accidental, and whether benefits have been assigned to a funeral home
- Filing the First Report of Death does not pay a claim — it triggers Transamerica to send the claim packet to the beneficiary
- Enter the policy/certificate number and the state at https://insuranceservicenow.transamerica.com/claims_form_1.aspx and Transamerica generates the correct forms for that policy and state
- The core form is the Claimant's Statement (https://ani.transamerica.com/ani/Uploads/Pages/42340/TLIC04062011-NAIC.pdf). It asks for items an heir often has to chase: the decedent's occupation at death, the cause of death, the name and address of the attending mortician, the date the decedent first showed signs of the last illness, the source of the date of birth, and the amount claimed
- Each beneficiary completes a separate Claimant's Statement — the form asks for that beneficiary's SSN or, for a trust or estate claimant, the trust or estate identification number
- Mail to the address printed at the top of the generated form — for Transamerica Life Insurance Company that is 4333 Edgewood Road NE, Cedar Rapids, IA 52499
- Trust as beneficiary: the trustee also submits the Trustee Certification of Trust Document and Trustee Powers form plus the trust's first page and signature page. Transamerica states it is not responsible for what the trustee does with the proceeds once paid
- Estate as beneficiary or beneficiary predeceased with no contingent: the personal representative signs in that capacity and encloses Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration bearing a raised court seal, plus the death certificate
- A minor beneficiary is paid to the court-appointed guardian of the estate or conservator unless state law provides otherwise
Required Documents
- Certified death certificate
- Completed Claimant's Statement — one per beneficiary
- Government-issued ID for the claimant/beneficiary
- Policy/contract number and the insured's SSN and date of birth
- Name and address of the attending mortician (asked for on the Claimant's Statement)
- Trustee Certification of Trust Document and Trustee Powers form (if a trust is beneficiary)
- Trust first page and signature page (if a trust is beneficiary)
- Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration with a raised court seal (if the estate takes the proceeds)
Claims Contact
What to know at this institution
There is no single Transamerica claims number. Individual life: 800-797-2643 (Mon-Fri, 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.). Individual annuities: 800-525-6205 (Mon-Thu, 8 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.; Fri, 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.). Claim forms support: 800-523-7900 (weekdays, 8 a.m. - 7 p.m. ET). Workplace retirement plans: 800-755-5801. IRAs: 866-300-0028. Employer group life and supplemental benefits: 888-763-7474. The claim packet is generated per policy and per state at insuranceservicenow.transamerica.com, and the mailing address is printed at the top of the generated form — do not reuse an address from another Transamerica letter. New York policies are issued by Transamerica Financial Life Insurance Company (Harrison, NY), a separate legal entity from Transamerica Life Insurance Company (Cedar Rapids, IA); confirm which entity is named on the policy before mailing.
Prepare your letter of instruction to Transamerica
Transamerica asks for a letter of instruction alongside its claim form. We prepare a transmittal cover letter and the enclosure checklist Transamerica requires.
Build your letter of instructionExpected timelines at Transamerica: Varies by claim complexity and documentation completeness. 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 Transamerica includes Certified death certificate, Completed Claimant's Statement — one per beneficiary, and Government-issued ID for the claimant/beneficiary, along with additional paperwork that varies by account type. All death certificates and court documents must be certified copies.
Frequently asked questions
Transamerica is several legal entities. Transamerica Life Insurance Company (Cedar Rapids, IA) issues in most states, Transamerica Financial Life Insurance Company (Harrison, NY) is the entity licensed in New York, and Transamerica Casualty Insurance Company issues certain other products. The entity is printed on the policy. It matters because the claim packet is generated per policy and per state at https://insuranceservicenow.transamerica.com/claims_form_1.aspx and the mailing address is printed at the top of the form Transamerica generates for you. A New York policy is not serviced on the same paperwork as an Iowa-issued one, and some Transamerica products (including the Financial Foundation IUL II and Financial Choice IUL II) are not sold in New York at all.
Use the Transfer of Ownership Request Form (OWN-CCC) at https://ani.transamerica.com/ani/Uploads/Pages/21410/OWN-CCC%202%20Co%20Fillable.pdf. Transamerica accepts either a revocable or an irrevocable trust as the new Owner. Both the current owner and the trustee must sign and date, and the trustee signature must include the trust date in Transamerica's own format: "John Doe, trustee under XYZ Trust dated MM-DD-YYYY". Enclose the Trustee Certification of Trust Document and Trustee Powers form plus the trust's first page and signature page — Transamerica does not want the whole trust instrument. Faxed forms are accepted at 1-800-235-4782. Two traps: any third-party advisor authorizations tied to the old owner are wiped when the policy transfers, and assigning an existing policy to an ILIT starts the three-year lookback under IRC 2035, so a death within three years pulls the death benefit back into the taxable estate.
Transamerica does allow trust-owned annuities — its Trustee Certification packet (https://www.transamerica.com/sites/default/files/forms/e070d/81604938_0423.pdf) covers both revocable and irrevocable trust owners, and optional living and death benefits are available on trust-owned policies (joint living benefits only on revocable trust-owned policies filing under a Social Security Number). But the same packet states the annuity will NOT receive tax deferral if the trust has any grantor, settlor, trustor, or named beneficiary that is not an individual — a charity or a corporation anywhere in the trust kills the deferral. That is the IRC 72(u) non-natural-owner rule in Transamerica's own words. The annuitant must also have a bona fide relationship to the trust, and it is the annuitant, not the trust, whose life drives the contract benefits. Where the trust has any non-individual component, name the trust as beneficiary instead of owner.
No. Individual life insurance (800-797-2643) and individual annuities (800-525-6205) each have their own service line and form set, and neither handles the workplace side. A Transamerica-recordkept employer retirement plan is claimed through the plan at 800-755-5801, an IRA at 866-300-0028, and employer group life, disability, or supplemental health through Employee Benefits at 888-763-7474. None of those can be retitled into a living trust — the participant or certificate beneficiary designation is the only estate lever on them, and the plan document controls the payout rules.
Transamerica's Life Insurance Claims (Transamerica Life Insurance Company) can be reached by phone at 1-800-797-2643 and fax at 1-800-235-4782 for questions throughout the claims process.
If the deceased held multiple Transamerica policies, each may require a separate claim or have different documentation requirements. The Life Insurance Claims (Transamerica Life Insurance Company) can confirm which accounts require individual attention and which can be processed together.
Sources
Data sourced from Transamerica primary sources (14 pages reviewed). How we research.
Life Insurance Policy Questions
Transamerica, 4333 Edgewood Road NE, Cedar Rapids, IA 52499
Life Insurance Policy Questions
Transamerica, 4333 Edgewood Road NE, Cedar Rapids, IA 52499
Life Insurance Claims (Transamerica Life Insurance Company)
Transamerica, 4333 Edgewood Road NE, Cedar Rapids, IA 52499
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