How Do I Write a Letter of Instruction to Symetra?

Send it to Symetra's estate/claims department: Symetra Life Insurance Company, PO Box 34690, Seattle, WA 98124-1690 (Overnight: 777 108th Ave NE, Suite 1200, Bellevue, WA 98004-5135). You can reach the department at 1-800-796-3872.

Symetra lists these among its required documents: Completed claim forms (provided by Symetra in the claim packet after notification); Certified death certificate including cause and manner of death; Policy number and deceased's information (name, date of birth); Letter of Testamentary (if the beneficiary is an estate, naming the executor or personal representative). The prepared letter includes an enclosure checklist drawn from Symetra's recorded requirements.

Generally within three business days after all required documents are received. Symetra emails or mails claim packets to beneficiaries promptly after notification of death. Online "Report a passing" form is available 24/7.

Symetra provides its own letter-of-instruction/claim form. We prepare a transmittal cover letter and an enclosure checklist to accompany that form.

It depends on the capacity you are acting in. An executor or administrator encloses Letters Testamentary (when there is a will) or Letters of Administration (when there is not); a successor trustee encloses a certificate of trust; a successor under a small estate encloses that state’s small estate affidavit. The prepared letter lists the proof-of-authority document for your role alongside the institution’s required documents.

A letter of instruction is the written request an institution asks for when settling a deceased customer’s account. It identifies the decedent and the account, states the capacity you are acting in, and tells the institution what to do with the account.