Death claim intake

How do we take a death claim from the first report so each beneficiary completes their own part, the death certificate and identities are collected, and the claim reaches the examiner complete?

Open one claim and give each claimant their own part. When a death is reported, Callvu identifies the policies on the insured across the company, classifies each (the beneficiaries on record, the contestability, the state's prompt payment and interest rules, any assignment), sends each beneficiary their own link to complete their claimant statement, identity, tax certification and payment election, collects the certified death certificate once from whoever holds it and reads it, chases each claimant on the clock the state's rules set, routes a contestable claim, a beneficiary dispute or a minor's claim to the claims examiner in the Decision Desk, and writes the complete claim to the claims system with the payment interest computed from the dates the state measures. Live at Phoenix Insurance, under national rules outside the US.

Live at PhoenixComplex: multi-party handoffsCallvu moves: chase and verify, classify, decide, write back

Talk to an expert Try it in the sandbox

Last updated November 7, 2026.

The problem today

The three beneficiaries each mailed a form; two were incomplete; the one who called every week was the one whose share was smallest.

Today, without Callvu

A death claim starts with a grieving caller and ends with payments to people who may not know each other. The insurer sends a claim package to one address; the beneficiaries pass it around; forms come back unsigned, without the tax certification, with a photocopy of the death certificate. The examiner cannot pay until every claimant's part is complete, and the state's interest clock is running.

The state's prompt payment of life claims rules set the period for payment after the proof of death and the claimant's proof, and the interest due from the date of death or the proof; the unclaimed property rules set what happens to a benefit the insurer cannot pay; the contestability period, the beneficiary designation and the tax certification govern what the examiner needs. Each beneficiary is a separate claimant with their own requirements, and the death certificate is one document.

A claim where each person does their part on their own phone is a claim the examiner can pay on time.

How it runs

From the requestto the system of record.

A death is reported by a beneficiary, a family member, a funeral home, an agent, or a death master file match (through the unclaimed benefits process). Callvu opens the claim on every policy on the insured.

Beneficiaries: Each completes their own claimant statement, identity, tax certification and payment election on their own phone.
Reporter: Provides the death certificate and the insured's details once.
Claims examiner: Receives the complete claim and decides contestable claims, disputes and exceptions in the Decision Desk.
Callvu: Finds the policies, classifies, sends each claimant their link, collects and reads the certificate, chases on the clock, routes and writes.

Find and classify
The insured is matched to every policy and contract across the company's lines (life, annuity, accidental death, group), and each is classified: the beneficiaries on record with their shares and contingents, the contestability status from the issue date, any assignment or irrevocable designation, the state's prompt payment and interest rules, the settlement options, and the tax status; the reporter is told what will be needed, once.
Chase and verify each claimant
Each beneficiary receives their own link to complete their claimant statement, verify their identity, give their tax certification and choose the payment method and any settlement option; the certified death certificate is collected once from whoever holds it (the reporter, a beneficiary, the funeral home) and read for the insured's identity, the date and the cause and manner of death; each claimant is chased on the clock with the claim showing whose part is outstanding, and a claimant who cannot be found starts the beneficiary search.
Decide
A claim within the rules with every claimant's part complete proceeds by rule; a death within the contestability period (which starts the contestable claim investigation with the medical records under its process), a cause of death that engages an exclusion, a dispute between beneficiaries, a minor or an estate as beneficiary, a missing beneficiary or an assignment goes to the claims examiner in the Decision Desk with the file and only the allowed outcomes.
Write back
The complete claim with each claimant's part, the certificate, the classification and the decision is written to the claims system, the payment interest is computed from the dates the state measures, the payments are released to each beneficiary by their election with the tax reporting, and a benefit that cannot be paid is tracked toward the unclaimed property process on its clock.

Where it ends: Every policy on the insured was found, each beneficiary completed their own part, the certificate was collected once, the examiner decided only the exceptions, and the claims system holds the complete claim with the interest computed and the payments released on the state's clock. The Decision Trace shows the classification, each claimant's checks and any decision; the Audit Trace shows the report, each part's completion and the payments with time.

Runtime enforcement

What is enforcedwhile the work runs.

The regulations preloaded in Callvu Studio and the bank's own policies, applied as steps that run, not lines in a binder. A step that breaks a rule does not run, so a completed run was compliant.

Regulations

US requirements shown. Phoenix runs this process under national rules outside the US; Callvu loads each market's rules as policies the same way.

State prompt payment of life claims rules: The state's insurance code requires payment of a life insurance death benefit within a set period (commonly 30 days, some states 60) after receipt of the proof of death and the claimant's proof of entitlement, with interest from the date of death or the date of proof at the state's rate where payment is later; the claim file must show the dates each proof was received so the interest is computed correctly.
Unclaimed property rules (the state unclaimed property acts and the NAIC Unclaimed Life Insurance Benefits Model Act): A death benefit the insurer cannot pay because a beneficiary cannot be located becomes reportable and escheatable after the state's dormancy period; the insurer must make good faith efforts to locate beneficiaries, including death master file comparisons, before escheat.
Contestability, the beneficiary designation and the tax certification (the state incontestability statutes, IRC 101 and the Form W-9 requirement): A death within the contestable period allows the insurer to investigate the application's representations; the beneficiary of record is paid in good faith; each claimant's taxpayer certification is required for the interest reporting, and a minor's share is paid to a guardian or custodian under the state's rules.

Company policies

The death is reported once, and every policy on the insured is found and opened from it.
Each beneficiary completes their own part on their own phone; nobody passes a package around.
The death certificate is collected once and read; the examiner decides only exceptions.
The claims system is the system of record, with the interest computed from the dates it holds.

Controls

Company-wide policy matching on the insured.
Policy classification with contestability and state rules.
Per-claimant links with identity, tax certification and election.
Certificate collection and reading.
Chases on the clock with beneficiary search.
Decision Desk for exceptions, claims system write and interest computation.

Clocks and deadlines

Payment: Within the state's period after the proof of death and the claimant's proof.
Interest: From the date of death or the proof at the state's rate, computed on the claim.
Dormancy: An unpaid benefit tracked toward the state's unclaimed property period.

Documents and checks

The policies found and the classification
The death certificate as read
Each claimant's statement, identity, certification and election
Any examiner decision
The claims system record, the interest and the payments

In the Decision Trace

The classification of each policy.
Each claimant's checks.
Any decision and the person.

In the Audit Trace

The report with time.
Each claimant's completion and chase with time.
The write, the interest and the payments.

The handoff

Between the front doorand the back office.

The front door

Any reporter in any channel; each beneficiary acts on their own phone from their own link.

The back office

The examiner opens a complete claim and decides exceptions; the interest and the payments run from the dates on the record.

The Decision Desk

A contestable death, an exclusion question, a beneficiary dispute, a minor or estate beneficiary, a missing beneficiary or an assignment goes to the claims examiner in the Decision Desk with the file and only the allowed outcomes.

Proof

Live at Phoenix.Published results only.

Each result is a published claim, with its code on agents.callvu.com, where its status, source and last verified date are kept.

Phoenix Insurance reaches more than 90% completion without human help.

INS-06 · Self-asserted · verified 2026-11-05

Phoenix Insurance put more than 100 processes live in under three months.

INS-01 · Self-asserted · verified 2026-11-02

Phoenix Insurance has 40% fewer agent-led calls.

INS-02 · Self-asserted · verified 2026-11-05

Questions

What buyers ask next,answered plainly.

Does each beneficiary have to complete a form?

Each completes their own part (the claimant statement, identity, tax certification and payment election) on their own phone from their own link; the death certificate is collected once.

When is the benefit paid?

Within the state's period after the proof of death and each claimant's proof, with interest from the date the state measures where payment is later, computed from the dates on the claim.

What if a beneficiary cannot be found?

The beneficiary search starts, the good faith efforts are recorded, and the unpaid benefit is tracked toward the unclaimed property process on its clock.

Related processes

Beneficiary changes Unclaimed benefits and lost beneficiary search Accident, hospital and critical illness claims Life underwriting evidence collection Try it in the sandbox All insurance processes

Bring this process, or the one that costs you most.

We build it against your policies and your systems, train your team and stay with you through launch. You are live in weeks.