What to do when a Unum account holder dies
Contact Unum's Unum Portability and Conversion Unit — 5-step process, 10 required documents, and the claim clock starts with the employer, not the beneficiary: cl-1091 tells the employer to act "as soon as you receive notice of death," and the employer may open the claim with the employer's statement alone while the remaining documents follow. beneficiary-side delays usually come from the signed authorization and substitute w-9, and from accidental-death evidence (autopsy and toxicology reports) on ad&d claims.
Customer Service
Phone1-866-679-3054
Emailaskunum@unum.com
Fax1-800-447-2498
Mailing Address
The Benefits Center, P.O. Box 100158, Columbia, SC 29202-3158
Term Life/AD&D and Whole Life Claims
Accident, Critical Illness, Hospital Claims
Leave and Disability Claims
Dental and Vision
Long Term Care
Portability and Conversion Unit
WebsiteLearn more→
Unum Portability and Conversion Unit
Phone1-800-421-0344
Toll-Free1-800-421-0344
Fax1-207-575-4244
Mailing Address
Unum, Portability and Conversion Unit, 2211 Congress Street, Portland, ME 04122
The Benefits Center - Group Life and Accidental Death Claims
Phone1-800-445-0402
Toll-Free1-800-445-0402
Fax1-800-447-2498
Mailing Address
The Benefits Center, P.O. Box 100158, Columbia, SC 29202-3158
WebsiteNotify online→
Verified Jul 2026
When an insured person dies, the beneficiary or executor should contact Unum's Unum Portability and Conversion Unit at 1-800-445-0402 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.
Unum 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
The death claim process at Unum works as follows:
Filing a claim
1
Notify the EMPLOYER first, not Unum
- A Unum group life claim is opened by the employer, not the beneficiary. Form CL-1091 is addressed to the employer and instructs it, "as soon as you receive notice of death," to complete the Employer's Statement and send it to The Benefits Center
- Call the deceased's employer benefits or HR contact and tell them to report the death to Unum. If the employer is unresponsive, call The Benefits Center directly at 800-445-0402 (Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET)
- If the coverage was PORTED or CONVERTED after the person left that job, there is no employer in the loop — call the Portability and Conversion Unit at 800-421-0344
2
Let the employer assemble its half of the claim
- Per CL-1091, the employer submits: the completed Employer's Statement, a copy of the certified death certificate (a photocopy or fax is acceptable to Unum), a copy of the original and current enrollment plus any coverage changes, and a copy of the most recent beneficiary designation form
- Unum may also request payroll information to confirm eligibility and calculate the benefit against the policy definition of Annual Earnings
- The employer may open the claim with just the Employer's Statement if not everything is available; the rest can follow
3
Complete the beneficiary's half
- The employer gives the beneficiary three items named on CL-1091: the Retained Asset Account page, a Substitute W-9, and the "Authorization - Life or Accidental Death Claim"
- The signed Authorization is what lets Unum obtain information about the deceased; without it the claim stalls
- If a trust is the beneficiary, expect to supply the trust documentation and trustee ID; if a minor is a beneficiary, CL-1091 has a minor-beneficiary section requiring an adult representative for the child
4
Add accidental-death evidence if AD&D is being claimed
- CL-1091 asks the beneficiary to submit the Accidental Death Statement plus copies of the police report, autopsy report, and toxicology report
- If no autopsy or toxicology was performed, Unum wants written verification from the coroner, medical examiner, or admitting hospital instead
- The AD&D section also asks whether the deceased left unmarried dependent children in 12th grade or enrolled full time beyond 12th grade, because the AD&D policy may pay an education benefit for them
5
Choose how the money is paid
- Under $10,000: paid by check
- $10,000 or more: paid through a Unum Retained Asset Account IF the group policy calls for that method; otherwise by check
- The beneficiary may request a check regardless of the amount by calling The Benefits Center at 800-445-0402. That request has to be made — the retained asset account is the default when the policy specifies it
Required Documents
- Employer's Statement from the Group Life and/or Accidental Death Claim form (CL-1091), completed by the employer
- Copy of the certified death certificate (CL-1091 states a photocopy or fax is acceptable)
- Copy of the original enrollment, current enrollment, and any coverage changes (electronic verification acceptable)
- Copy of the most recent beneficiary designation form (electronic verification acceptable)
- Signed "Authorization - Life or Accidental Death Claim" from the beneficiary
- Substitute W-9 from the beneficiary
- Government-issued ID for the beneficiary
- Trust documentation and trustee ID if a trust is the beneficiary; adult-representative details if a beneficiary is a minor
- AD&D only: Accidental Death Statement, police report, autopsy report, toxicology report, or coroner/medical examiner/admitting hospital verification if none was performed
- Payroll information, if Unum requests it to confirm eligibility or calculate Annual Earnings
Claims Contact
What to know at this institution
Two things about a Unum group life claim surprise families. First, the beneficiary cannot really drive it alone: form CL-1091 is written to the EMPLOYER, and Unum expects the employer to complete the Employer's Statement and to produce the enrollment records and the most recent beneficiary designation. If the employer is slow, the claim is slow. Call The Benefits Center at 800-445-0402 and press HR in parallel. Second, the payout may not be a check. Per CL-1091: a benefit under $10,000 is paid by check; a benefit of $10,000 or more is paid through a Unum Retained Asset Account if the group policy calls for that method (otherwise by check). The Unum Retained Asset Account is not a bank account. Unum holds the money in its general account and pays interest on it; the beneficiary gets a book of bank drafts and can write drafts of $250 or more up to the full balance, with no charge for writing drafts or ordering more, but Unum does charge $5 for a copy of a draft or statement, $15 for a stop payment, $10 for a returned draft or extra statements or extra 1099-INT copies, and $25 for a rush draft book. The funds are guaranteed by Unum Group and are NOT FDIC insured; they are backed by state guaranty associations (NOLHGA, nolhga.com, 703-481-5206). If there is no account activity and no contact with the beneficiary for two years, Unum may be required to surrender the balance to the state of the beneficiary's last known residence, so a retained asset account left untouched can end up in unclaimed property. A beneficiary may request payment by check regardless of the benefit amount by calling The Benefits Center. Interest earned on a retained asset account may be taxable. Accident, critical illness, and hospital indemnity claims are handled by a different unit at 800-635-5597.
Prepare your letter of instruction to Unum
Unum asks for a letter of instruction alongside its claim form. We prepare a transmittal cover letter and the enclosure checklist Unum requires.
Build your letter of instructionProcessing timelines at Unum: The claim clock starts with the employer, not the beneficiary: CL-1091 tells the employer to act "as soon as you receive notice of death," and the employer may open the claim with the Employer's Statement alone while the remaining documents follow. Beneficiary-side delays usually come from the signed Authorization and Substitute W-9, and from accidental-death evidence (autopsy and toxicology reports) on AD&D claims. Incomplete documentation is the most common cause of delays—submitting all required documents with the initial claim helps avoid additional processing time.
Unum requires several documents to process a claim, including Employer's Statement from the Group Life and/or Accidental Death Claim form (CL-1091), completed by the employer, Copy of the certified death certificate (CL-1091 states a photocopy or fax is acceptable), and Copy of the original enrollment, current enrollment, and any coverage changes (electronic verification acceptable), and additional documentation depending on the account type. Certified copies are typically needed—photocopies are generally not accepted for death certificates or court documents.
Frequently asked questions
While you are employed, your employer does. Unum form CL-1091, the Group Life and/or Accidental Death Claim form, instructs the EMPLOYER to produce "a copy of the most recent beneficiary designation form" when it reports a death. That means calling Unum to check who your beneficiary is will usually send you back to HR, and it means a beneficiary change is made in your employer benefits system, not with Unum. It also means the designation is only as good as your employer records: if a plan administrator changes, an old designation can go missing. Keep your own signed copy with your estate documents. The exception is ported coverage — once you have left the employer and are paying Unum directly, Unum holds the designation and you file the Portability Beneficiary Designation Form (CS-1277) with the Unum Portability and Conversion Unit, 2211 Congress Street, Portland, ME 04122.
Not while it is group coverage. Your employer owns the group policy; you hold a certificate, and there is no individual contract to assign to an ILIT. You can name a trust as beneficiary of the group certificate, but the coverage itself cannot be retitled. The one route to an assignable individually owned policy is Unum CONVERSION: within 31 days of the date your group coverage ends, you may convert group term life into an individual whole life policy that builds cash value, at individual rates. Unum states the right to convert is guaranteed by law in certain circumstances, and conversion applies to life insurance only, not AD&D. Once the policy is individually owned, ownership can be assigned to an ILIT through Unum policy service (800-445-0402) — subject to the federal three-year lookback, which pulls the death benefit back into your taxable estate if you die within three years of the transfer. Convert or port through: Unum, Portability and Conversion Unit, 2211 Congress Street, Portland, ME 04122, 800-421-0344, PortabilityConversion@unum.com.
Per Unum claim form CL-1091: a benefit under $10,000 is paid by check, and a benefit of $10,000 or more is paid through a Unum Retained Asset Account if the group policy calls for that method (otherwise it is paid by check). The Retained Asset Account is not a bank account. Unum holds the money in its general account and credits interest; you receive a book of bank drafts and can write drafts of $250 or more, up to the full balance, at no charge for the drafts themselves. Unum does charge $5 for a copy of a draft or statement, $15 for a stop payment, $10 for a returned draft or additional statements or extra 1099-INT copies, and $25 for a rush draft book. The balance is guaranteed by Unum Group, is NOT FDIC insured, and is backed by state guaranty associations. Two estate traps: interest earned may be taxable, and if there is no account activity and no contact for two years, Unum may have to surrender the balance to the state of the beneficiary last known residence as unclaimed property. A beneficiary can request payment by check regardless of the amount by calling The Benefits Center at 800-445-0402 — but you have to ask.
The employer starts it, not the beneficiary. Form CL-1091 is written to the employer and tells it, as soon as it receives notice of the death, to complete the Employer Statement and send it to The Benefits Center, P.O. Box 100158, Columbia, SC 29202-3158, with a copy of the certified death certificate (Unum accepts a photocopy or fax), the enrollment records, and the most recent beneficiary designation. The employer then hands the beneficiary three items: the Retained Asset Account page, a Substitute W-9, and the "Authorization - Life or Accidental Death Claim," which is what allows Unum to gather information about the deceased. Unum lets the employer open the claim with the Employer Statement alone and send the rest later, so the practical move for a family is to press HR to file the Employer Statement immediately and to call The Benefits Center at 800-445-0402 (Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET; fax 800-447-2498) to confirm it arrived. If the coverage was ported or converted, there is no employer in the loop — call 800-421-0344 instead.
Sometimes, and there is a deadline. Unum conversion and portability rules say a spouse and children may CONVERT their dependent life coverage if the employee dies while covered under the group plan — and if the employee dies, a surviving spouse must port their own coverage in order to port the children coverage. Children coverage can be ported under the employee or the spouse, but not both. Whichever route applies, the election has to be submitted no later than 31 days after coverage ends, to Unum, Portability and Conversion Unit, 2211 Congress Street, Portland, ME 04122 (800-421-0344). This is easy to miss in the weeks after a death, and there is no extension. Separately, AD&D coverage can be ported but not converted, and Unum accident coverage simply ends on the date the insured dies.
Unum's The Benefits Center - Group Life and Accidental Death Claims can be reached by phone at 1-800-445-0402 and fax at 1-800-447-2498 for questions throughout the claims process.
When the deceased had multiple Unum policies, some may need separate claims while others can be handled together. The Unum Portability and Conversion Unit can clarify what's needed for each account type.
Sources
Data sourced from Unum primary sources (18 pages reviewed). How we research.
Customer Service
Phone1-866-679-3054
Emailaskunum@unum.com
Fax1-800-447-2498
Mailing Address
The Benefits Center, P.O. Box 100158, Columbia, SC 29202-3158
Term Life/AD&D and Whole Life Claims
Accident, Critical Illness, Hospital Claims
Leave and Disability Claims
Dental and Vision
Long Term Care
Portability and Conversion Unit
WebsiteLearn more→
Unum Portability and Conversion Unit
Phone1-800-421-0344
Toll-Free1-800-421-0344
Fax1-207-575-4244
Mailing Address
Unum, Portability and Conversion Unit, 2211 Congress Street, Portland, ME 04122
The Benefits Center - Group Life and Accidental Death Claims
Phone1-800-445-0402
Toll-Free1-800-445-0402
Fax1-800-447-2498
Mailing Address
The Benefits Center, P.O. Box 100158, Columbia, SC 29202-3158
WebsiteNotify online→
Verified Jul 2026
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