The debate about what insurance companies should do to find beneficiaries of life insurance policies has been ongoing for a long time.
According to Oklahoma State Treasurer Ken Miller, even though 99 percent of life insurance policies are claimed by beneficiaries, the one percent of unclaimed funds amounts to billions of dollars across the United States.[1]
If a policy exists and the beneficiary knows about it, he or she will file a claim in order to get paid. If, however, the policy exists, but the beneficiary does not know about it, the insurance company can claim it does not have to pay.
In the past, insurance companies did not have to pay unless a claim was filed. This trend is changing now, when many state regulators demand stringent reporting from the life insurance industry.
But the changes will not be visible soon. It may take years to distribute unclaimed money to all life insurance beneficiaries who are not aware they are owed payouts.
Officials report that many insurance companies do not inquire into whether policyholders are alive. They only pay a claim once they are informed of the insured’s death.
And the existing laws have supported this practice for a long time. However, these laws are unfair to beneficiaries who never knew there was a life insurance policy in place. Some people find out that they are owed the proceeds of a life insurance policy many years after the insured’s death.
Oklahoma is one of those states that are trying to change the way life insurance companies search for beneficiaries. The Oklahoma State Treasurer’s Office has been successfully searching for policies that are not claimed. It informs the insurance company of the insured’s death and collects the proceeds under the policy which it then distributes to the rightful owner.[2]
Some state officials argue that the search for policyowners who have passed away and beneficiaries under these policies is something insurance companies should do themselves.
Enacting laws that support this approach may take a long time. While the new rules are being implemented, you can get help finding unclaimed property by contacting your state’s Treasurer’s Office. Below is a list of State Treasurer’s Office websites where you can find more information about unclaimed property.
Alabama https://www.treasury.state.al.us/Content/index.aspx
Alaska https://unclaimedproperty.alaska.gov/
Arizona https://www.azunclaimed.gov/
California https://www.treasurer.ca.gov/unclaimed.asp
Colorado https://www.colorado.gov/treasury/gcp/
Connecticut https://www.ott.ct.gov/unclaimed_overview.html
Delaware https://revenue.delaware.gov/unclaimedproperty.shtml
Florida https://fltreasury.org/
Georgia https://etax.dor.ga.gov/ptd/adm/taxguide/ucp.aspx
Hawaii https://budget.hawaii.gov/finance/unclaimedproperty/
Idaho https://www.sto.idaho.gov/unclaimedproperty/
Illinois https://icash.illinois.gov/
Indiana https://indianaunclaimed.gov/apps/ag/ucp/index.html
Iowa https://www.treasurer.state.ia.us/for_businesses/unclaimed_property
Kansas https://www.kansasstatetreasurer.com/prodweb/main/index.php
Kentucky https://secure.kentucky.gov/treasury/unclaimedproperty/default.aspx
Louisiana https://www.treasury.louisiana.gov/Home%20Pages/UnclaimedProperty.aspx
Maine https://www.maineunclaimedproperty.gov/
Maryland https://interactive.marylandtaxes.com/individuals/unclaim/
Massachusetts https://www.mass.gov/treasury/unclaimed-prop/
Michigan https://www.michigan.gov/treasury/
Minnesota https://mn.gov/commerce/industries/unclaimed-property/
Mississippi https://www.treasurerlynnfitch.com/Pages/default.aspx
Missouri https://treasurer.mo.gov/UnclaimedProperty/
Montana https://www.missingmoney.com/main/statesites.cfm
Nebraska https://www.treasurer.org/up/
Nevada https://nevadatreasurer.gov/UPSearch/
New Hampshire https://newhampshire.findyourunclaimedproperty.com/
New Jersey https://www.unclaimedproperty.nj.gov/
New Mexico https://www.nmsto.gov/what_the_treasurers_office_does_not_do
New York https://www.osc.state.ny.us/ouf/
North Carolina https://www.nctreasurer.com
North Dakota https://www.nd.gov/ndtreas/
Ohio https://www.ohsb.uscourts.gov/unclaimed-funds
Oklahoma https://www.ok.gov/treasurer/Unclaimed_Property/
Oregon https://unclaimed.oregon.gov/
Pennsylvania https://www.patreasury.gov/unclaimed/search.html
Rhode Island https://www.treasury.ri.gov/divisions/unclaimedproperty/
South Carolina https://www.treasurer.sc.gov/unclaimed-property/
South Dakota https://southdakota.findyourunclaimedproperty.com/
Tennessee https://www.treasury.state.tn.us/unclaim/
Texas https://www.window.state.tx.us/up/
Utah https://www.mine.utah.gov/UP_Search.asp
Vermont https://vermont.unclaimedproperty.com/
Virginia https://www.trs.virginia.gov/
Washington https://ucp.dor.wa.gov/
Wisconsin https://www.statetreasury.wisconsin.gov/section.asp?linkid=1381&locid
Wyoming https://treasurer.state.wy.us/upsearch.asp
Washington D.C. https://dc.findyourunclaimedproperty.com/
