After the death of a loved one, anyone can request a search to find out whether they had taken out a life insurance policy. To guide your search, it is important to distinguish between a search with insurers and a search for funds deposited with the Caisse des dépôts et consignations.
In brief: Agira organises searches for policies with insurers. Ciclade can be used to search for funds deposited with the Caisse des dépôts et consignations.
Unclaimed life insurance: where should you start?
Service Public distinguishes between cases where you think you are a beneficiary of a policy and cases where you think you know the person who might be one. In both situations, the search concerns the possible existence of a policy taken out by the deceased person.
Agira is responsible for searching for life insurance policies of a person whose death has been known for less than 10 years. If the insurer has known of the death for more than 10 years, Service Public advises contacting the Caisse des dépôts et consignations, using its online service Ciclade.
When reading this guidance, distinguish between the date on which the death became known and the date on which the insurer learned of it. The latter is the starting point for the period during which insurers retain the funds of deceased policyholders.
How do you request a search from Agira?
Anyone can request a search for the existence of a deceased person's life insurance policy. The request to Agira is free of charge.
To prepare your request, enclose a copy of the death certificate of the person who may have taken out the policy. You can use the Agira VIE online service, dedicated to searching for beneficiaries of a life insurance policy.
If you cannot use the internet, you can send your request by post to Agira Recherche Contrats Assurance Vie, 26 Boulevard Haussmann, 75311 Paris Cedex 09. A copy of the death certificate remains the document to be enclosed, as indicated by Service Public.
What happens to the request?
Within 15 days of receiving it, Agira informs insurance companies of the policyholder's death. Each insurer receiving the request must search to see whether the deceased person had taken out one or more policies.
If you are named as a beneficiary, the insurer has 1 month after receiving the request forwarded by Agira to inform you that a policy exists for your benefit. This time limit therefore concerns the information given to the beneficiary by the insurer after the request has been forwarded.
You can also contact Agira to find out whether another person is a beneficiary. In that case, the insurer can contact only the beneficiary of the policy, not the person making the request.
It is therefore useful to distinguish between the person making the request and the person named as beneficiary. One person can submit the search request, while the insurer communicates with the named beneficiary.
What happens if a beneficiary is identified?
When the insurer has the beneficiary's contact details, it must contact them to request all the documents needed to pay the capital. This step concerns preparation for payment, after the search for the policy.
If you are a beneficiary, the insurer must pay the capital within 1 month of receiving all the documents needed for payment. This payment period has a different starting point from the period allowed to inform the beneficiary that a policy exists.
After the payment deadline, the unpaid capital accrues interest at twice the statutory interest rate for 2 months, then at three times the statutory interest rate. To place each step in context, remember that the starting point for information about the policy is receipt of the request forwarded by Agira, followed by receipt of all the documents needed for payment.
When should you use Ciclade for a life insurance policy?
Insurers retain the funds of deceased policyholders for 10 years from the date on which they learned of the death. After this period, they transfer the unclaimed funds to the Caisse des dépôts et consignations.
Ciclade can be used to search for funds deposited with the Caisse des dépôts. Funds from unclaimed life insurance policies can be recovered through Ciclade for 20 years from their transfer to the Caisse des dépôts.
To choose between the procedures, the question is therefore what has happened to the funds: Agira can be used to enquire with insurers, while Ciclade is used to search for funds deposited with the Caisse des dépôts. The recovery period through Ciclade runs from the transfer, not from the date on which the insurer learned of the death.
What are the roles of the insurer and the notary?
The insurer's search
The insurer must regularly search for deceased policyholders. Each year, it must check its client records against the national register of identification of natural persons, known as RNIPP.
When a policyholder dies, the insurer must on its own initiative search for and contact the beneficiaries by all available means. The request to Agira is thus one of the search mechanisms described by Service Public.
The search with the notary
A notary responsible for settling an estate can consult Ficovie to find out whether the deceased person may have taken out any life insurance policies. The notary can act only upon a written request from the heirs.
If a notary is settling the estate, the heirs can therefore ask them about this search and send their request in writing. Ficovie is the national register of life insurance and capitalisation policies, maintained by the tax authorities.
Unclaimed policy: keep clear records
Prepare a tracking file with a copy of your request, the date it was sent, the references provided and the replies received. Note any outstanding questions separately: which organisation has been contacted, which document remains to be supplied and which step is underway? This organisation will help you pick up your search if a new contact becomes involved.
If several relatives are taking part in the searches, agree on a way to share useful references and actions already taken. Before each follow-up, reread the latest reply and ask a specific question about your case. Keep search correspondence separate from correspondence concerning any potential payment.
To find the official access points for Agira and Ciclade, consult the Service Public page on searching for a life insurance policy after a death.
This guide provides information to help direct your search; it does not replace advice tailored to your situation.
