Licensed States for Life Insurance

Valor Life Benefits is licensed to sell life insurance in Texas, Colorado, South Carolina and Michigan. Coverage is not offered in any other state. Each state page below covers the rules and consumer resources of that state's insurance regulator.

State Insurance Regulators

Texas	Regulated by the Texas Department of Insurance. Community property state; a refund window of at least 10 to 20 days depending on the policy; claims paid within two months of proof of death. Its Consumer Help Line and online lookup show whether a company or agent is licensed.
Colorado	Regulated by the Colorado Division of Insurance within the Department of Regulatory Agencies, which hosts a lost policy locator page, answers consumer questions and investigates complaints.
South Carolina	Regulated by the South Carolina Department of Insurance, which posts a life insurance FAQ and takes consumer complaints.
Michigan	Regulated by Michigan DIFS, which runs the Life Insurance and Annuity Search Service for lost policies and takes policy questions your agent cannot answer.

Why Your State of Residence Matters

FINRA's guide to insurance products sums it up: term and whole life policies are regulated by state insurance commissioners, while some life policies are securities registered with the SEC. Each state's insurance department licenses the agents who sell coverage to its residents and handles complaints.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners, an association of state insurance regulatory officials, helps the departments coordinate their laws, and publishes a life insurance buyer's guide used across the states. That guide also suggests going over your coverage with an agent every few years to keep up with changes in the policy and in your needs.

Verifying a License Before You Apply

Texas, Colorado and Michigan each keep a public license lookup. In Texas it is the Look up a company or agent tool on the Texas Department of Insurance site. Colorado links its license verification from the Division of Insurance home page. Michigan uses the DIFS Locator. Colorado also posts disciplinary actions taken against agents and agencies. Michigan's insurance department puts it simply: choose an agent and company you feel confident in, and use the locator to check the license first.

Unclaimed Benefits and the State of Purchase

The Insurance Information Institute's lost policy guide points out that a death benefit no one claims goes to the state where the policy was purchased, as unclaimed property. If you know or can guess that state, its unclaimed property database is the place to search, and the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators offers a tool that leads to each state's database.

Coverage Offered in Each State

The same five kinds of coverage are available in Texas, Colorado, South Carolina and Michigan: term life insurance, whole life insurance, final expense insurance, mortgage protection insurance and indexed universal life insurance. Which companies and policy versions are available depends on your state, age and health. Answers to common questions are on the life insurance questions page.