Principal Insurance Claims: Three Fax Numbers and Which One Is Yours
Table of Contents
Quick answer: Principal has three claims faxes, split by how you got the coverage. Claims on a plan through your employer, from disability and group life to paid leave, go to 800-255-6609. Individual disability policies use 866-317-4526, and individual life policies 866-894-2096. Each route also has an email address, listed below.
The split is group versus individual, not life versus disability. A group claim goes to the same fax whatever kind it is, an accident claim or a long-term disability claim alike. Only policies you bought yourself are divided by type. If you have both, say a plan through work and an individual disability policy bought through a financial professional, each claim goes to its own fax.
Group or individual: which fax
Checked on principal.com on 7 November 2026.
| What you’re sending | Fax | Source | Checked on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Group short-term or long-term disability claim: your section, your employer’s and the attending physician’s statement | 800-255-6609, or email SBDClaims |
Principal insurance and claims help page | 7 Nov 2026 |
| Group life claim, with any accelerated benefit or accidental dismemberment forms | 800-255-6609 | Principal insurance and claims help page | 7 Nov 2026 |
| Life premium waiver (the disability and life waiver claim form) | 800-255-6609 | Principal insurance and claims help page | 7 Nov 2026 |
| Group accident, critical illness, hospital indemnity and wellness claims | 800-255-6609 | Principal insurance and claims help page | 7 Nov 2026 |
| Paid family and medical leave: your section of the claim | 800-255-6609 | Principal insurance and claims help page | 7 Nov 2026 |
| Individual disability claim and its supporting records | 866-317-4526, or email IndividualDisabilityClaims |
Principal insurance and claims help page | 7 Nov 2026 |
| Individual life insurance claim | 866-894-2096, or email IndClaims |
Principal insurance and claims help page | 7 Nov 2026 |
| Dental claims you file yourself | No fax: mail to P.O. Box 9010, Brentwood, NY 11717-9010, or email CSDClaims |
Principal insurance and claims help page | 7 Nov 2026 |
Group claims wait for every section
Online, Principal emails links to your employer and your doctor so each can fill in a part, and the review doesn’t begin until all sections are complete. A paper claim has the same three parts: yours, your employer’s and the attending physician’s statement. Your doctor can also complete theirs online.
Timing matters on disability claims. File a short-term claim as soon as you can, and no earlier than 30 days before the disability date. File a long-term claim no later than halfway through the elimination period, the waiting time before benefits start. For a life premium waiver, written proof of total disability is due within one year of the date it began.
Paid leave claims work the same way and can be filed up to 30 days before the leave starts. If the leave is also a short-term disability claim, you don’t need a separate leave form.
Individual disability: the paperwork is financial too
An individual disability claim asks for more than medical forms. Principal’s list: the disability claim notice, the attending physician’s statement, a psychiatric questionnaire if one applies, two years of personal and business tax returns, profit and loss statements or pay stubs, and a job description if you have one. All of it goes to 866-317-4526, by email, or by mail to Individual Disability Claims, 711 High Street, Des Moines, IA 50392. Questions go to 800-422-3788, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central.
For a group claim, Municorn Fax scans each completed section with your phone’s camera and faxes it to 800-255-6609, so your part doesn’t wait on a fax machine while your employer and doctor finish theirs. The app keeps a delivery report for each send, and the first single-page fax is a free test. Other insurers: The Standard, Aflac and Unum.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do I fax a Principal group life claim?
To 800-255-6609, the same fax as every other group claim, or by email to SBDClaims@principal.com. Beneficiaries can also file online and upload the death certificate, and an employer or family member can start a group life claim by phone on 800-245-1522.
Does Principal take claims by email instead of fax?
Yes. Group claims go to SBDClaims@principal.com, individual disability claims to IndividualDisabilityClaims@exchange.principal.com and individual life claims to IndClaims@exchange.principal.com.
Does HIPAA cover the medical records I send with a Principal claim?
Not for a disability or life claim. HHS says disability income insurance isn’t a health plan under HIPAA, and it lists life insurers among the organizations HIPAA doesn’t cover. Send the records the claim asks for and nothing more.
Sources
- Principal, Insurance and claims: the group fax and email, the individual disability and individual life faxes and emails, dental claims, online filing, the timing for disability, premium waiver and paid leave claims. Published 4 November 2026. Checked 7 November 2026.
- Principal, Help for businesses: phone claims for group life on 800-245-1522; individual disability bought through a financial professional is handled separately from group claims. Checked 7 November 2026.
- HHS, “Are the following types of insurance covered under HIPAA: long/short term disability; workers’ compensation; automobile liability that includes coverage for medical payments?”: disability income insurance isn’t a health plan. Last reviewed 28 December 2022. Checked 7 November 2026.
- HHS, Your Rights Under HIPAA: life insurers among the organizations that don’t have to follow HIPAA. Last reviewed 30 May 2025. Checked 7 November 2026.
