In probate proceedings, the family often only suspects that the deceased once took out life insurance – but the policy cannot be found, nobody remembers the name of the insurer, and nobody has access to the bank account either. As a broker, I see two mistakes being made in such cases: the family either gives up (“we will never find out anyway”) or waits months for the probate proceedings to end, even though there is no need to wait for the estate transfer order (hagyatékátadó végzés) to claim the amount due to the beneficiary. This article is a practical guide: where the clues are, whom you can ask and what, and what the notary can do that the family cannot. The preventive side – keeping the policy where it can be found – is covered by the document map; this article is about what happens if that map was never made.
- In Hungary there is no central register of life insurance policies in which a deceased person's contracts could be looked up – MABISZ (the Hungarian insurers' association) operates a policy register only for compulsory motor third-party liability (MTPL) insurance.
- Because of the rules on insurance secrecy (Section 138 of the Insurance Act, Bit.), the insurer gives information only to those entitled to it: the beneficiary, an heir who proves their status as heir, and the notary acting in the probate case.
- The clues lead both around the home and outwards: bank account debits, renewal letters, tax returns, group insurance at the workplace, the bank, the broker – and written enquiries to the insurers, enclosing the death certificate.
Why there is no simple answer: there is no central register
The first question is usually whether this cannot simply be looked up in one place. It cannot. In Hungary there is no central register from which a deceased person's life insurance policies could be retrieved; the policy register kept by MABISZ (the Hungarian insurers' association) covers only compulsory motor third-party liability (MTPL) insurance, under the MTPL Act (Gfbt.). The MNB (Hungary's central bank and financial supervisor) does not keep such a list either, and as far as I know, introducing such a service is not on the agenda.
The second barrier is insurance secrecy. Under Section 138 of the Insurance Act (Bit.), the insurer may disclose the data of the policyholder and the insured person only to specified persons and bodies. In practice this means – and the insurers' information sheets for heirs say so consistently – that the beneficiary named in the contract can obtain information by proving their identity, and the heir by presenting the final estate transfer order or a certificate of inheritance (öröklési bizonyítvány). The insurer is also obliged to respond to an enquiry from the notary acting in the probate case – point (d) of Section 138(1) of the Bit. names the notary and the expert appointed by the notary, but not the town clerk (jegyző) who draws up the inventory, so it is worth asking the notary to send the enquiry to the insurer. To a relative who is “just enquiring”, the insurer typically says no more than this: submit the death certificate and proof of the family relationship, and you will receive an answer about whether a contract exists once your entitlement has been clarified. The relief in force since 2021 – a close relative may request data in order to keep the premium payments going – applies to property insurance (home, car), not to life insurance.
Looking for clues at home: papers, bank statements, letters
Most contracts leave traces, just not in the form of a policy document. It is worth going through the following in this order:
- Papers: the policy, the proposal form, the policy conditions, renewal notices, indexation letters, premium reminders, tax certificates (for pension insurance, the insurer sends an annual certificate for the tax credit). The letterhead of an old letter already tells you the name of the insurer, and often the policy number as well.
- Bank account: the premium is usually paid by direct debit or standing order, and the insurer appears in the payment reference or as the payee. With the estate transfer order, the heir can request the account history from the bank; until then, the notary can also contact the bank. If the premium was paid by bank card, look for the insurer's name on the card statement.
- Tax return: if the deceased claimed the pension insurance tax credit in their personal income tax (szja) return, the declaration concerned shows the insurer's name and the contract identifier. A copy of the return can be requested from NAV (the Hungarian tax authority) by proving your status as heir – NAV provides information on the exact procedure.
- E-mail and phone: many people now receive insurers' renewal letters and premium notices by e-mail, and the name of the broker or adviser may be in the phone's contacts. Important: a relative is not entitled to log in to the deceased's Ügyfélkapu (government e-services portal) account or online insurer account – rather than accessing them, it is better to take the official route.
Looking for clues outside the home: employer, bank, broker, insurers
If there are no clues at home, you have to ask outside. Employers often maintain group life or accident insurance that the employee's family does not even know about; HR or payroll can tell you whether there was such a policy and who the beneficiary is (typically the heir). If the deceased had a loan, ask the bank whether credit protection (payment protection) insurance was attached to it – this is in the bank's favour, but it reduces the debt, and if the sum insured is higher than the outstanding debt, the difference may be due to the family under the policy conditions. Accident or life insurance linked to a bank card or a current account package can also be enquired about at the bank.
If the deceased took out their contracts through a broker, it is worth contacting the broker too and asking about the contracts they arranged – a business card or an old e-mail helps a great deal in finding them. This is why it is worth writing the broker's contact details on the family document map as well. Finally, there are the insurers themselves: a few dozen insurers operate in Hungary, and the number of those writing life insurance is manageable – a circular letter can be put together based on the MABISZ membership list. Write to each of them, giving the deceased's name, date of birth and address, with a copy of the death certificate and proof of the family relationship. The insurer replies once the entitlement has been clarified; if you are the beneficiary under the contract, according to the insurers' information sheets documentary proof of the death is sufficient for this, and no estate transfer order is needed.
What can the notary and the estate inventory do?
Probate proceedings begin with the town clerk drawing up the inventory. At that point the relatives are asked about the known assets – if you know or suspect that there was life insurance, say so, with or without the insurer's name. Under Section 138 of the Bit., the notary can send enquiries to the insurers, and they must reply to the notary; this is the most effective route if the family has not found a single clue. Two things are worth knowing. If the contract names a beneficiary, the amount – as described in the beneficiary vs. estate article – is not part of the estate: the notary informs the beneficiary, and payment can be requested directly from the insurer. If there is no beneficiary, under Section 6:478 of the Hungarian Civil Code (Ptk.) the insured person's heir is the beneficiary, and insurers pay after the final estate transfer order, in proportion to the shares of inheritance. The limitation period for the claim is set out in the policy conditions and differs from insurer to insurer – another reason not to wait years before searching.
Once you have found it: how to file the claim
The primary route for a death benefit claim is the insurer's customer service and its online claims portal. Insurers typically ask for the death certificate, a medical document proving the cause of death (certificate of death examination, hospital discharge report), the policy number or the policyholder's identification data, and proof of the beneficiary's identity; according to the insurers' information sheets, for larger payouts – typically above HUF 4.5 million – in-person customer due diligence under the Anti-Money Laundering Act is also mandatory. The full list by type of event is in the list of required documents, and the order of the family's tasks is in the family's to-do list. If the case gets stuck or becomes disputed, as a broker I help where I can, acting on the client's behalf – the decision is the insurer's, and in a dispute the route is the Financial Arbitration Board (PBT) or the courts.
What should you do now?
If you are in this situation now: collect the papers and bank statements, ask the employer and the bank, mention your suspicion when the estate inventory is drawn up, and write to the insurers, enclosing the death certificate. If you are a beneficiary, do not wait for the probate proceedings to end. And if you have life insurance yourself: there is only one way to spare your family this search. Tell your family where the policy is, who the insurer is and who your broker is – one page, filled in following the document map, saves months and a great deal of uncertainty for those who would otherwise be searching during the hardest days.
A question tailored to your family's situation? Book a free 20-minute consultation →
Sources
- Insurance Act (Bit., Act LXXXVIII of 2014) Section 138 – cases in which insurance secrets may be disclosed
- Hungarian Civil Code (Ptk., Act V of 2013) Section 6:478 – beneficiary; the heir as beneficiary
- MTPL Act (Gfbt., Act LXII of 2009) – the policy register applies to compulsory motor third-party liability insurance
- Signal Iduna: General information for heirs
- Groupama: Information for heirs
- Digital Citizen programme (Digitális Állampolgár): Official tasks when a relative of yours has died (steps of the probate procedure)
