Unclaimed life insurance is a financial asset that was not received by its rightful owner. As we all know, Life insurances are funds that must be received by the beneficiary after the death of the insured person.
It primarily provides enough financial assistance that can help each beneficiary to gain life stability. However, there are instances where life insurance becomes unclaimed.
This means that the beneficiary was not able to receive his/her benefits or financial assets from an insurance company. Unclaimed insurance is a disadvantage for both the insured person and its beneficiaries as they are sent or given.
In the United States, millions of individuals do not receive their respective benefits from life insurance. The Consumer Reports investigation said that at least $1 billion funds from life insurance aren’t being paid out by different life insurance companies.
Moreover, $2,000 is the average life insurance benefit every year but it can reach as high as $300,000. Even if the average funds are small, beneficiaries still need to receive them. Financial assets are important for every individual, especially those who lost their loved ones.
Furthermore, an insured person wants to support and assist his/her beneficiary after his/her death, and it must be done. Life insurance companies must be responsible for the disbursement of their funds and benefits.
Unclaimed life insurance can still be claimed by its beneficiaries. However, the process of finding life insurance as well as the reclamation needs to undergo a legal and systematic process that requires a period.
Once beneficiaries have already claimed their life insurance benefits, there will be no problem at all. In the United States, the federal and local governments have policies that will help every beneficiary to claim their insurance funds.
There are several possible causes why life insurance becomes unclaimed. It can be problems in the Life Insurance Company or beneficiaries can also be the reason.
Check the list below for the common instances where life insurance becomes unclaimed.
1. The insured person lost contact and information with the Life Insurance Company. Some circumstances where there’s a lost communication between the insured person and Life Insurance Company.
With this, there will be no exchange of information between the two. For instance, the insured person will not be able to update his/her information to the company.
Thus, there will be no change in the information of the beneficiary to the company. Remember that communication and updates are important in terms of life insurance.
2. The Life Insurance Company is not aware that the insured person already died. Most of the Life Insurance Companies will just know that the insured individuals died when a beneficiary confirmed and reported it.
As long as there’s no update for the insured individual, benefits would not be given. Some insured individuals are not able to say their respective life insurance and so, beneficiaries will not know that the individual is insured.
So, every insured individual must say his/her life insurance even for just one of his family, friends, or another individual.
3. The Life Insurance Company cannot find and locate the beneficiary. There can be instances where a Life Insurance Company is ready for the release of the benefits or funds but the beneficiary is cannot be found or located.
This means that the beneficiary has no communication with the company. However, this can be avoided as long as the beneficiary has updated information within the company for fast and easy transactions.
4. The beneficiary is not aware that he/she will receive benefits from a Life Insurance Company. Some insured persons are not able to say the life insurance benefits to their beneficiaries.
In this case, the beneficiaries do not know that he/she will receive funds or financial assets from an insurance company. So, this can be a problem between the company and beneficiary as there’s no communication between the two.
5. The Life Insurance Company cannot be found or located. Life Insurance can also be unclaimed when the company closes.
This means that there’s no present operation of the Life Insurance Company and the benefits and funds are not able to be released.
However, the company can have violations under the law but it will be a long process.
In the United States, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) is an agency that assists individuals that have problems with life insurance.
They have a website that contains a broad range of information and specified details regarding unclaimed and life insurance.
Moreover, some fact sheets are also available that can be helpful for each individual. They can also provide answers to questions related to life insurance through their website.
There are various ways to find Unclaimed Life Insurance.
Refer below for some of the steps on how to find.
1. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) has a page where individuals can search if they have unclaimed life insurance.
The Life Insurance Policy Locator Service allows individuals to find information and details if they have unclaimed insurance.
2. The Missing Money website is also authorized and trusted when it comes to unclaimed funds. This may include life insurance. Check missing money official website and search if you have unclaimed financial assets.
3. Some local states also have their respective websites on how to find unclaimed insurance. Just visit the website for the following states: Michigan, Ohio, New York, Oregon, North Carolina, Louisiana, and Illinois.
4. Each State Insurance Department Directory also has information about unclaimed life insurance. Individuals can visit their respective local state government office to find their details about unclaimed insurance.
The process of the reclamation will depend on how you found your life insurance. Online websites and local government offices help individuals to claim life insurance once they find it. Always stay connected with your local government or agency.
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