My father has just passed away. I know he had taken out a life insurance policy naming me as beneficiary, but I don’t know the name of the insurer. Are insurers required to search for beneficiaries?

Yes. Insurance companies must check at least once a year whether insured persons have died (Article L.132-9-3 of the French Insurance Code); to do so they consult the National Register for the Identification of Natural Persons (RNIPP). If the insured has died, they must then search for the beneficiaries of the life insurance policy (Article L.132-9-3) in order to inform them (Articles L.132-8 last paragraph and L.132-9-3 of the Insurance Code).