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DAN MULLIN INSURANCE
Final Expense Whole Life Insurance
“Dan Mullin Insurance provides affordable final expense whole life, burial, and guaranteed acceptance life insurance with most applicants qualifying for first-day coverage, fixed rates for life, and most claims paid within 24 hours for families across 18 states.”
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This month's American Lifestyle Digital Edition
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Social Security Number:
Why It’s Necessary to Get Life Insurance
Consumer information provided as a public service by Dan Mullin Insurance.
When applying for life insurance, some consumers are understandably cautious when asked to provide a Social Security number. After all, a Social Security number is important personal information and should never be given casually.
But providing identifying information to a legitimate, state-licensed life insurance company through a licensed insurance producer is very different from giving that information to an unknown caller, an unsolicited message, or an unverified website.
Life insurance is an important financial product. Depending upon the insurance company, policy, and individuals involved, Social Security numbers and other identifying information may be requested for the insured, policy owner and, in some circumstances, beneficiaries. This information serves legitimate purposes in properly establishing, administering and ultimately paying a life insurance policy.
Why Life Insurance Companies Ask for Social Security Numbers
1. To Help Verify the Person Being Insured
A life insurance company needs to establish that an application relates to the correct individual.
A Social Security number, together with information such as the applicant’s legal name and date of birth, can be used in identity-verification processes and can help distinguish between people who may have similar or identical names.
The Social Security Administration offers authorized verification services through which, with appropriate consent, permitted organizations can determine whether a name, date of birth and Social Security number match Social Security Administration records.
Official information:
Social Security Administration — Consent Based Social Security Number Verification
2. To Properly Identify the Policy Owner
The person insured and the person who owns a life insurance policy are not always the same person.
When another individual owns the policy, the insurance company needs accurate identifying information about that person as well. Establishing the identities of the parties to an insurance contract helps the company properly issue and administer the policy and helps protect against errors, impersonation and fraud.
3. To Properly Identify Beneficiaries
Beneficiaries are the people or entities designated to receive the life insurance proceeds after the insured dies.
Insurance companies need sufficient identifying information to distinguish the intended beneficiary from someone with a similar name and to help locate and properly identify the person entitled to receive the policy proceeds.
Depending upon the insurance company and its procedures, identifying information requested for a beneficiary may include a Social Security number or other information.
Accurate beneficiary information can become especially important many years later when a death claim is made.
4. To Assist With Death Verification and Claims
A Social Security number can also be useful in accurately matching records associated with a person’s death.
The Social Security Administration maintains death information associated with Social Security records. Its death-information files can include the deceased person’s Social Security number, name, date of birth and date of death. SSA receives death information from a number of sources.
Official information:
Social Security Administration — Requesting SSA’s Death Information
Social Security Administration — What to Do When Someone Dies
Reliable identifying and death information can assist insurance companies and other authorized organizations in matching records and verifying information. It does not necessarily replace an insurance company’s normal claim requirements, but accurate identifying information can help make the claims process more efficient and help ensure that benefits are paid to the proper beneficiary.
Social Security Numbers Are Common in Important Financial Transactions
Consumers are right to protect their Social Security numbers. At the same time, there are many legitimate situations in which a Social Security number or taxpayer identification number is required or routinely requested for lawful financial, tax, employment or identity-verification purposes.
Common examples include:
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Getting a job and receiving a paycheck
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Opening certain bank and financial accounts
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Applying for loans or credit
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Tax and income reporting
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Other financial transactions requiring identity or taxpayer verification
The Internal Revenue Service explains that, for most individuals, a Social Security number is also their taxpayer identification number and that taxpayer identification numbers are required on tax returns and various tax-related documents.
Official information:
Internal Revenue Service — Taxpayer Identification Numbers
Life insurance is also an important financial contract—often one that remains in force for decades and ultimately results in money being paid to a beneficiary. Accurately identifying the people associated with that contract is therefore important.
What Protects Your Social Security Number?
A legitimate insurance company does not collect a Social Security number so that it can be made public.
Your Social Security number is sensitive, nonpublic personal information. It is not placed on a public record simply because you apply for life insurance.
Insurance companies operate within state and federal regulatory frameworks governing privacy, data security and the handling of consumers’ personal information.
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) maintains model laws and regulations addressing insurance privacy and data security, including the Insurance Data Security Model Law and other privacy and safeguarding standards.
Official information:
National Association of Insurance Commissioners — Data Privacy and Insurance
The Federal Trade Commission also provides guidance regarding the protection of sensitive personal information. It specifically identifies Social Security numbers as sensitive personally identifying information and emphasizes limiting access to and protecting information that businesses have a legitimate reason to maintain.
Official information:
Federal Trade Commission — Protecting Personal Information: A Guide for Business
Privacy and security requirements vary according to the company, jurisdiction and applicable law, but the principle is straightforward:
Sensitive consumer information should be collected for legitimate purposes, appropriately protected, and made available only to those with a legitimate reason to use it.
Your Insurance Agent Is Licensed, Too
Consumers should also know who is asking them for their information.
In the United States, a person who sells, solicits or negotiates insurance generally must be licensed as an insurance producer by the appropriate state insurance regulator. Insurance companies themselves are also subject to state insurance regulation.
State insurance departments oversee insurance companies and producers as part of the regulatory system designed to protect insurance consumers.
Official information:
National Association of Insurance Commissioners — Producer Licensing
A licensed insurance producer who handles an applicant’s confidential information must follow applicable privacy, security, insurance-company and state requirements governing that information.
Consumers should never hesitate to ask an agent for his or her full name, insurance license information and the name of the insurance company before providing sensitive information.
Protect Your Social Security Number—But Know When It Is Legitimately Needed
There is an important distinction between protecting your Social Security number and refusing to provide it when it is legitimately needed for an important financial transaction.
Never provide your Social Security number simply because an unknown caller, email, text message or website asks for it.
Before providing sensitive information for a life insurance application:
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Know the identity of the insurance agent or producer.
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Know the name of the insurance company to which you are applying.
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Make sure you are actually applying for a life insurance policy.
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Understand why the information is being requested.
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Provide the information only through an authorized application or enrollment process.
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Feel free to ask how your information will be used and safeguarded.
When properly requested as part of a legitimate life insurance application, a Social Security number can be an important piece of identifying information. It can help establish the policy correctly, identify the people involved, reduce mistakes and fraud, assist with record matching, and help with the proper administration and eventual payment of a valid claim.
Additional Official Consumer Resources
Social Security Administration
Consent Based Social Security Number Verification
Social Security Administration
Requesting SSA’s Death Information
Social Security Administration
What to Do When Someone Dies
National Association of Insurance Commissioners
Data Privacy and Insurance
National Association of Insurance Commissioners
Producer Licensing
Federal Trade Commission
Protecting Personal Information: A Guide for Business
Internal Revenue Service
Taxpayer Identification Numbers
Consumer information provided as a public service by Dan Mullin Insurance.
Dan Mullin Insurance
Final Expense Whole Life Insurance
