Service- Help Center – Federal Life

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Help Center

Find answers to common questions about your policy, making payments, updating your information, and managing your coverage. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, our Customer Care team is here to help.

How policy loans and withdrawals work

Some life insurance policies build cash value over time. If the policy has cash value, the owner may be able to borrow against it or withdraw part of it. To request a loan, the policy owner needs to complete the loan form, available in our Forms Library.

Only certain Universal Life policies qualify. Ask our Customer Care team if you’re not sure whether yours does.

There’s no fixed repayment schedule. But if the loan balance and interest grow too high, your policy could lapse or end.

Only Whole Life policies with cash value qualify. Contact Customer Care to find out how much you can borrow.

Interest builds daily and gets billed once a year until you repay the loan. Unpaid interest gets added to what you owe, so it keeps growing too. This could end up costing more than your policy’s cash value. If that happens, you may need to pay with outside funds to keep your policy active.

Yes, if there’s an unpaid loan when the insured passes away. We subtract the loan balance and any unpaid interest from the death benefit before paying beneficiaries.

By check: Mail a check to Federal Life Insurance Company. Include your policy number and note that it’s a loan repayment. See our Contact Us section for our mailing address.

By EFT: If you’re already set up for EFT payments, call Customer Care to set up loan repayments. If not, download the EFT form from our Forms Library first.

About the policy owner and beneficiary

Your life insurance policy is an important asset. Keeping your beneficiary and ownership information current helps make sure your wishes are followed, and it makes the claims process easier for the people you leave behind. To change the owner or beneficiary on your policy, download the right form from our Forms Library.

The policy owner controls the policy. Owners can change beneficiaries, transfer ownership, request policy changes, borrow or withdraw against eligible policies, and surrender the policy if allowed. In most cases, an owner can transfer ownership to another person, trust, or business. This requires a completed ownership change request, plus any required documents, signed by all required parties.

The beneficiary receives the policy’s proceeds after the policy owner passes away. A beneficiary can be a person, group, or entity (like a trust, estate, or charity) and is designated by the policy owner.

The owner and the beneficiary don’t have to be the same person, and changing one doesn’t change the other. These are always separate requests.

No. These are separate requests. Changing the owner doesn’t change who the beneficiary is, and changing the beneficiary doesn’t change who owns the policy.

Primary beneficiaries are first in line for the death benefit. Contingent beneficiaries (sometimes called secondary beneficiaries) only receive proceeds if all primary beneficiaries die before the insured or can’t receive the benefit.

Download the surrender form from our Forms Library. You can also send us a written letter requesting cancellation. Just include your contract number, your name as the contract owner, your signature, and the date.

It depends on when they died:

If they died after the insured: Their share generally goes to their own estate. We’ll need documents showing who has legal authority over that estate before we can pay out.

If they died before the insured: Their share usually passes to the remaining primary beneficiaries. If none remain, it goes to contingent beneficiaries.

If no beneficiaries remain: The death benefit generally goes to the insured’s estate. We’ll need documents showing legal authority over that estate before we can pay out.

Our Claims team can review the policy and explain next steps if a beneficiary designation isn’t clear.

When there’s more than one beneficiary, each one fills out their own claim form. Only one person needs to submit the death certificate and shared documents, like a trust or affidavit of heirship.

If no beneficiary is named, or no named beneficiary survives the insured, the death benefit typically goes to the estate. This may require extra legal paperwork and can delay payment.

In most cases, yes. If the beneficiary designation is revocable, the policy owner can change beneficiaries anytime by submitting a beneficiary change form. A beneficiary can’t be changed after the insured has passed away. If the beneficiary designation is irrevocable, their written consent is required before making changes. In some states, if the beneficiary was named while the policy owner was married, a spouse may need to approve any changes too. Check the beneficiary change form for details.

A minor child can be named as a beneficiary, but extra legal steps may apply, and many policy owners choose to set up a trust instead.

Setting up power of attorney

A power of attorney (POA) is a legal document that lets a named person, called an attorney-in-fact or agent, act on someone else’s behalf in financial or legal matters.

Send a written request that includes:

A copy of the complete power of attorney document
A copy of a government-issued ID for the named power of attorney (like a driver’s license)
Any required company forms, if the specific transaction type calls for one

Each request is reviewed to confirm it’s valid under state law and grants the authority needed for the transaction. Once accepted, the document is kept on file with the policy records, so it won’t need to be resubmitted later unless something changes or a new transaction type requires broader authority.

The authority granted depends on the language in the POA document and the laws of the applicable state.

No. A power of attorney generally ends when the principal, meaning the insured or policy owner, dies. Authority held under a POA during that person’s lifetime doesn’t continue afterward. If the policy or its proceeds become payable to the deceased person’s estate, legal documentation, such as court-issued appointment papers or other accepted estate documents, will be required to identify who’s authorized to act on behalf of the estate before requests can be processed or benefits distributed.

Updating name and/or contact information

Keeping contact and personal information current helps make sure policy notices, billing statements, tax documents, and claim-related communications arrive without delay.

The policy owner needs to call to request these changes. Written requests are also accepted by email, but only from the email address currently listed on file for that policy. If no email is on file, or the listed email isn’t accessible, the request needs to be made by phone.

If the policy owner or insured has had a legal name change, a written request is required along with a copy of the corresponding legal document, such as a marriage certificate, divorce decree, or court order.

When a policy pays out to an estate

If no living beneficiary is entitled to the benefit, or if the policy names the estate as beneficiary, the death benefit becomes part of the estate. We can only pay benefits to someone with legal authority to act for that estate.

Possibly. It depends on your state’s laws and the details of the estate. Our Claims team will review what you send and let you know if it works.

Anyone can report the claim. But we can only pay someone with legal authority to represent the estate. This authority usually comes from court documents, though other options may apply depending on your state.

Generally, no. We need documents showing legal authority over the estate, and all claim requirements must be met first.

Requirements vary by state and your specific situation. In addition to the standard claim form and proof of death, we may ask for:

Court-issued Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration
A Small Estate Affidavit, if your state allows it
Tax ID information for the estate
Other documents that show legal authority

Our Claims team can answer questions about the claims process and what documents we need. We can’t give legal or tax advice about estate or probate matters.

Making payments on your policy

Paying on time keeps a policy active and coverage in place. Here’s what to know about payment options, due dates, and what happens if a payment is missed.

Payment options

Automatic bank draft (EFT/ACH)
Mailed check

No. Online payments are not supported.

TBD

Yes, a separate payor can be added to a policy, allowing them to make premium payments on the owner’s behalf. Only the policy’s owner or a legally authorized representative can request changes to the policy or payment arrangements. A payor can only manage payment processing, not other changes.

Missed, failed, and partial payments

TBD

No. Full payment is required. Partial payments get refunded and returned to the sender.

Automatic EFT payments

Download and complete the EFT enrollment form from the Forms Library.

Download and complete the EFT enrollment form from the Forms Library to update banking details.

EFT payments process on or within a few days of the due date. Since payments only run a couple of times per week, the actual processing date may fall slightly after the due date. Allow up to 5 business days past the expected draft date before following up on a payment’s status.

TBD

Invoicing and receipts

A billing invoice arrives by mail in advance of the payment due date. Payment should go to the address listed on the invoice, with the enclosed check stub included for accurate, timely processing.

The due date is based on the day of the month the policy was issued. For example, a policy issued on the 15th would have payments due on the 15th each period after that, depending on the payment frequency (monthly, quarterly, annually, etc.).

No, payment receipts aren’t sent.

Filing a death claim

Find answers to common questions about filing a death claim and what to expect during the process.

That’s okay. We don’t need it to report a death. We can usually find the policy using the insured’s full name, date of birth, Social Security number, and date of death.

We’ll check the policy’s beneficiary information when we review the claim. If you’re listed as a beneficiary, we’ll contact you and let you know what’s needed to process your claim.

Life insurance death benefits are usually not subject to federal income tax. Tax rules can vary depending on your situation, like interest earned on the claim or if the benefit goes to an estate or trust. We can’t give tax advice, so talk to a tax professional if you have questions.