Like so many boomers, I'm a member of the sandwich generation, caring both for my parents, who are in their 80s, and my youngest daughter, who is in college. I also have an 89-year-old mother-in-law. That means my husband and I have a lot of papers to keep up with... insurance papers (life, auto, home, long term care, you name it)... medical papers (who goes to which doctor and what meds are they on?). Then, there are financial papers (checking, savings, CDs, safety deposit boxes) to track. It can be absolutely maddening trying to stay on top of our own records, never mind those of our parents.
And yet, it's important to do so. The fact is insurance companies and financial institutions in particular have no way of knowing when someone has passed away, so they aren't likely to reach out and let beneficiaries know what claims can be made. As a result, billions of dollars go unclaimed each year, simply because nobody knew benefits were available and how to file for them.
So I was delighted when I received a note from Tej Shah, 24, co-founder of a new web site that goes live this week called www.WeRemember.org ("So your loved ones don't have to"). Shah said he and his partner, Joe Palmer, 27, started the site to help people have a central place to identify all their important papers to enable people to know exactly where to go to get copies of everything from insurance documents to wills upon the death of a family member or friend. (Some people put all their papers in a safe or a safety deposit box at the bank, but unless the appropriate paperwork has been filed and a beneficiary has access to a key, beneficiaries won't get very far.)
Users of the secure online site can set up a profile detailing what policies s/he holds, where the will is held, and who to contact to arrange claims. To further ensure security, the site does not request Social Security numbers or even account numbers of insurance policies. Anyone can set up a profile for free and give www.WeRemember.org permission to contact (for free) their beneficiaries upon their death. For an upgrade fee of $29.95, www.WeRemember.org will even send the appropriate claims forms to be filed.
Here's how the site works: the company's database regularly connects to the Social Security Administration Death Index, which is where all deaths in the United States are officially recorded. When a match is found, www.WeRemember.org verifies that the match really is one of its profile users. Then, the site contacts the user's third-party verifier (who is not a beneficiary nor family member, but someone who can verify that the user has actually died). Upon third party confirmation of the death, www.WeRemember.org contacts the beneficiaries to tell them how to execute claims against policies and accounts.
The site makes its money from users who upgrade to the $29.95 service, as well as from companies that sponsor educational modules on the site. The sponsors answer questions for users and when someone clicks through to explore options, the site collects a referral fee.
I predict www.WeRemember.org will be a hit with boomers in particular. After all, many of us have a pretty diverse portfolio of insurance policies, 401(k) contributions and complex wills that often entail multiple homes, and trusts. Oh... and children spread all over the country who are left to deal with it all. What a great example of a site that understands our needs and appreciates our desire to use technology as a tool to help us accomplish something that's important to us.
