Life insurance policies cover the person named in the policy when they pass away. The policy should pay out proceeds to the person the policyholder names as their beneficiary. What happens when the contact information for the beneficiary is not up to date or missing?
This money is kept until a claim is submitted on behalf of the insured/beneficiary. A claim must be received within two years.
Find out more about Life insurance payouts and Retained Asset Accounts.
Free service helps Washington residents recover $366,000 in old life insurance policies
Since November 2016, 53 Washington residents have recovered $366,000 in life insurance policies and annuities that they didn’t know existed or were unable to locate.
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners created on online Life Insurance Policy Locator to help consumers search for old policies and benefits. The free service makes the process simpler overall.
The service encrypts your request to keep personal details confidential. Insurers taking part compare requests with available policyholder information. They report all matches to state insurance departments and then contact beneficiaries or their authorized representatives.
Since its beginning last November, people have submitted more than 600 requests in Washington state alone, ranking among the top 10 states with queries. Texas, California and Florida lead the pack in recoveries – each with more than $2 million returned to consumers.
Since 2010, state insurance regulators have investigated unclaimed life insurance benefits. Regulatory actions within in the industry have resulted in returning more than $6.75 billion life insurance proceeds to consumers.
Learn more about how to search for a lost life insurance policy.
Read about national results from the NAIC’s life insurance policy locator