This service is intended to facilitate the sharing of relevant information between applicants and participating insurers in order to help locate a deceased person’s insurance policy. OLHI does not conduct searches of insurers’ records and does not determine whether a policy exists.
Our role is limited to reviewing the eligibility of requests and, when the criteria are met, forwarding the information provided to participating insurers, which then carry out their own searches based on their internal procedures.
Before submitting your request
Please ensure you meet these requirements:
- Try searching on your own first
Use these tips on how to search for a lost policy - Provide proof of the policy’s existence
If you cannot locate it, you must have evidence that the policy exists. - Timing matters
The death must have occurred more than 3 months ago, but less than 2 years ago. - Eligible policies
We can only share information related to life insurance policies issued in Canada. - Reasonable request
OLHI must determine that it is reasonable for us to conduct a search. This means your request must be based on specific information that suggests a policy exists, not on a general assumption. For example, a reference to an insurance policy in a will or other documents may be sufficient, whereas simply believing the person “must have had insurance” is not.
How OLHI’s Search Works
After you submit your request, we review the information to ensure it meets the criteria listed above.
- If your request qualifies: The information you provide is added to OLHI’s consolidated search list. This list is shared with participating insurers on a monthly basis. Each insurer then conducts its own search of its records.
If additional information is required, we will contact you to request it. - If your request does not meet the criteria: The information is not added to the search list, and no information is shared with insurers.
OLHI does not conduct searches itself and does not send acknowledgments or confirmation notices to indicate whether a request has been added to the search list or whether insurers have conducted a search.
For privacy reasons, OLHI does not follow up on search results. If an insurer finds a policy, they will contact you directly if they are permitted to do so. Insurers can only share information with the beneficiary or the estate, and they are responsible for ensuring they contact the correct person.
Important to Know
Most Canadian life and health insurance companies participate in OLHI.
Non participating companies: If your lost policy is with one of the few companies that do not participate in the OLHI, our search will not find it.
Group policies: Sometimes our searches do not find group policies. If you are looking for a group policy, contact the deceased’s former employer(s) and/or association(s) directly.