Ruling on the inheritance of life insurance policies

It is well known that one can take out a life insurance policy through which the insurance company, in exchange for a premium paid by the policyholder (either as a lump sum or in installments), agrees to pay a benefit—either a lump sum or an annuity—to the designated beneficiary.

This arrangement essentially serves as a gift to the beneficiary. After the policyholder’s death, the policy—like any gift—may be subject to legal action by the deceased’s heirs. In particular:

• If the beneficiary is a co-heir (and the gift is not exempt from collation or excluded under Article 742 of the Civil Code), the other heirs may request hereditary collation, which requires the gift to be divided among all heirs.
• If the beneficiary is not entitled to inherit (provided the conditions of Article 564 of the Civil Code are met), a request for reduction may be filed to restore the reserved share (the so-called legittima).

Sometimes, heirs are unaware of life insurance policies taken out by the deceased, or even if they are aware, they may not know who the beneficiary is. In such cases, they may ask insurance companies to confirm the existence of any policies and disclose the identity of the beneficiary.

According to the website of ANIA (National Association of Insurance Companies), the “Life Policy Search Service” allows individuals to request information about the existence of life insurance policies taken out by deceased persons. The service is intended for potential beneficiaries such as heirs, relatives, or spouses. However, for privacy reasons, if the system does not confirm that the requester is a beneficiary, the response will be negative or no information will be provided—regardless of whether the deceased had in fact taken out a policy.

There have been cases where insurance companies confirmed the existence of life insurance policies but withheld the identity of the beneficiary, citing privacy concerns. This has made it difficult or impossible for heirs to exercise their inheritance rights.

To address this legal uncertainty, the Italian Data Protection Authority issued a resolution on October 23, 2023, clarifying the right of heirs and beneficiaries to access the personal data of deceased persons, particularly with respect to life insurance policies (as governed by Article 15 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and Article 2-terdecies of the Italian Data Protection Code).

Published in Official Gazette No. 281 on December 1, 2023, the provision emphasizes that legally significant interests—such as the right to legal defense—can outweigh the interest in data confidentiality. It therefore encourages data controllers to perform a preliminary assessment to ensure the request is not baseless, confirming that the requester has a legitimate legal interest in the inheritance and that the information sought is necessary to pursue or defend a succession right.

In its most recent ruling (No. 3565, dated February 8, 2024), the Civil Court of Cassation, Section I, reaffirmed its previous decision (No. 39531/2021) and endorsed the principles set out by the Data Protection Authority.

It is now clear that insurance companies cannot invoke privacy laws to refuse heirs access to information about policies taken out by the deceased or to withhold the names of the beneficiaries. Engaging a specialized agency, such as Agenzia delle Successioni, can be helpful for investigative and problem-solving purposes. Obtaining an initial consultation is simple, although completing the appropriate request form is required.