17B:17-30 Procedures to confirm death, location, notification of beneficiaries.
5. a. An insurer shall establish procedures to reasonably confirm the death of an insured or account holder and begin to locate beneficiaries within 90 days after the identification of a potential match made by a death index cross-check or by a search conducted by the insurer pursuant to section 4 of this act. For those potential matches identified as a result of a death index match, the insurer shall, within 90 days of a death index match, complete a good faith effort, which shall be documented by the insurer, to locate the beneficiary or beneficiaries.
b. Once the beneficiary or beneficiaries under the policy or account have been located, the insurer shall provide to the beneficiary or beneficiaries the information necessary to make a claim pursuant to the terms of the policy or account. The insurer shall process all claims and make prompt payments and distributions in accordance with all applicable laws, rules, and regulations.
c. Nothing in this act shall be construed to prevent an insurer from requiring satisfactory proof of loss, such as a death certificate, for the purpose of verifying the death of the insured.
L.2017, c.236, s.5.