Have you ever taken out a life insurance policy a long time ago?
Or perhaps you remember your parents mentioning that they had life insurance, but no one knows where the policy documents are, which company issued the policy, or whether the policy has already matured.
It may sound like a distant possibility, but according to the Life Insurance Fund, from its establishment in 2008 through 31 December 2025, more than 1.17 million people were entitled to unclaimed life insurance policy benefits, worth over THB 2.053 billion in total.
In simple terms, there is still a large amount of money from life insurance policies waiting for the people who are entitled to receive it.
And most importantly, that money has not simply disappeared.
What are “unclaimed life insurance policy benefits”?
The term may sound legal or complicated, but the idea is quite straightforward.
Unclaimed life insurance policy benefits are payments under a life insurance policy that the policyholder, beneficiary, or other entitled person did not claim from the insurer within the legally specified period.
These may include:
Survival benefits paid during the policy term
Maturity benefits
Dividends
Insurance claim payments
Other benefits payable under the policy
Under Section 52 of Thailand’s Life Insurance Act B.E. 2535 (1992), if the money remains unclaimed for 10 years from the date the person becomes entitled to receive it, the life insurance company must transfer the money to the Life Insurance Fund.
So the term “unclaimed” does not mean the money has vanished. It means the money has been transferred from the insurer to the Life Insurance Fund in accordance with the law.
Why does so much money go unclaimed?
The reasons are often much more ordinary than people expect.
Some people bought life insurance decades ago, then moved house, changed phone numbers, or changed their contact details without updating the insurer. When the company later tries to contact them, it may no longer be able to reach them.
In other cases, the policyholder passes away without ever telling family members that a policy exists, leaving the beneficiary unaware that there is money to claim.
Another situation is when someone stops paying premiums and assumes the policy is simply over, even though certain types of life insurance may still have a remaining cash value or other policy benefits.
There are also cases where an insurer issued a cheque, but the policyholder never deposited it before the cheque expired.
A document from Thailand’s Fiscal Policy Office even highlighted a case in which a policyholder had stopped paying premiums nearly 20 years earlier, only to later discover almost THB 200,000 in unclaimed policy benefits held by the fund.
So forgetting that money may still be due does not necessarily mean there is nothing left to claim.
Who should consider checking?
Anyone who has had a life insurance policy can check, but it may be especially worthwhile if you:
Took out a life insurance policy many years ago and no longer remember the details
Stopped paying premiums before the end of the policy
Moved house or changed contact details without informing the insurer
Received a cheque from an insurance company but never deposited it
Know that your parents or family members had life insurance but are unsure whether any benefits remain unclaimed
Remember having a policy but do not know whether it has already matured
The convenient part is that you do not need to start by calling insurance companies one by one.
The Life Insurance Fund now provides an online system where you can check whether you are entitled to unclaimed policy benefits and continue the claim process if a match is found.
How can you check whether you have money waiting?
Visit the Life Insurance Fund website and go to the service for checking unclaimed life insurance policy benefits.
The basic information required for the search includes:
Thai national ID number
First name
Last name
If the system finds a matching entitlement, it will display relevant information so you can proceed with the claim.
Check unclaimed life insurance policy benefits
If no record appears, that does not necessarily mean that every life insurance policy you have ever held has no remaining benefit. This system only checks money that has already been transferred to the Life Insurance Fund. If a policy or benefit is still being held by the insurance company, you may need to contact that company directly.
What should you do if the system finds money?
If you find that you are entitled to money, you do not necessarily need to visit the Life Insurance Fund in person as your first step.
There are generally two ways to submit a claim:
Submit the claim online through the Life Insurance Fund’s E-Service system
Submit documents directly to the Life Insurance Fund through the channels specified by the fund
The fund will review the documents and the claim before transferring the money to the eligible recipient once the claim is approved.
If the claimant is a beneficiary or heir rather than the original policyholder, the required documents and process may be different, so it is worth checking the fund’s instructions before submitting the application.
Read more about the claim process
If you have ever had life insurance, it may be worth checking once
An old life insurance policy that you have forgotten about may still have money or benefits waiting for the person entitled to receive them.
Merry’s Care would simply like to suggest taking a few minutes to check.
If nothing appears, at least you know. But if something does, it is money that already belongs to you and may finally be able to find its way back to its rightful owner.
For more information about unclaimed life insurance policy benefits, contact the Life Insurance Fund at 0-2791-1333, Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
