My dad had a life insurance policy, with me as the sole beneficiary. I was not aware of it until after his death, when my daughter and a close family friend reminded me. They remembered him talking about it but didn't know what insurance company. My nephew was the executor. When my dad died my nephew and my brother took all my dad's papers that would be needed after his death (his death was expected, after a long illness). It is highly possible they (especially my brother) would know of the policy and not admit it. I have payment rec'ts and other proof of insurance policies as far back as the 1940's but a lot of the companies cannot be found, either long-gone or changed names. I cannot find policy information on anything that wasn't already known about at the time of his death. How can I investigate to find out what company this policy might have been with?

I would try contacting the state insurance division in your state for advice. This must happen quite frequently. Someone should be able to trace the path of the policy reps.

You could try contacting your father's personal attorney (if he had one) or the attorney who drew up his will. The attorney may just have a list of his assets or have some knowledge about this policy. Did your father have any other policies that listed your brother as beneficiary? Usually a person will have several policies with one insurer rather than different insurers.

Or asking the family members who took all of his papers to let you look though the bank book, ( checking book) and see what insurance was being paid.

If you have companies that are closed, list them, many of us can trace them to who owned them, or the state insurance dept may know where the policies went from closed companies.

There would be no benefit to your brother and your nephew (as executor) NOT to tell you about the policy. The executor signs affidavits that he/she has made full disclosure.

Why do you think they are "hiding" this policy from you?

There are various paid sites that will search out this information for you - give them the name and they'll search out all policies, closed policies, unclaimed policies, "active" policies.

How can I check insurance companies if they are reliable and trustworthi?

Since 3 1/2 yrs have passed since your post, you may want to start looking in your states abandoned funds (unclaimed property etc) department. In the state I worked in, that was a function of the State Comptroller's office and claims can be searched online. It may be entirely different in other states. You would have to take your best shot at what his last address would have been in the insurance company's files. Time is of the essence since at some point these unclaimed funds will probably go into the state coffers and will be no longer availalble. Research the apppropriate state's laws and procedures for unclaimed property.

All states provide data on lost assets so that rightful owners can reclaim their property. The following website provides a single free connection to all the states' on-line sites for searching for lost accounts: http://www.unclaimed.org/

I highly recommnd that everyone check this every year or two, searching every state you have ever lived in. I found a few hundred dollars for my brother that way.