Current News: Over $17 Million in Life Insurance Benefits Located for Tennesseans
The Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance (TDCI) announced that over $17.5 million in life insurance benefits have been located for Tennesseans since Jan. 1, 2019.
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) Life Insurance Policy Locator continues to connect consumers with lost life insurance. Each year, millions of dollars in life insurance benefits go unclaimed by beneficiaries who can’t find their deceased loved ones’ policies or in some cases may not even know the policies exist.
That’s where the Life Insurance Policy Locator comes in. This free online tool, maintained by the NAIC, has received 145,432 requests which has led to 46,665 matches of lost or misplaced life insurance policies or annuities with claim amounts of $650,520,451 million being reported by companies through July 31, 2019 since its November 2016 launch.
“Losing a loved one is often a painful, chaotic time. Beneficiaries who don’t know where policy paperwork is located may struggle to find it while taking care of their loved ones’ estate,” says Eric A. Cioppa, NAIC President and Maine Insurance Superintendent. “The NAIC’s Life Insurance Policy Locator gives consumers a way to easily search for policies and annuities.”
The policy locator requests are secure, confidential and free. Any matches found by participating insurers are reported to state insurance agencies through the NAIC Life Policy Locator. The companies then are responsible for contacting beneficiaries.
During the five-month period of January 1, 2019, to May 31, 2019, Tennesseans submitted a total of 992 requests to the Life Insurance Policy Locator Service. Of those submitted, 398 requests were matched to policy benefits. Companies reported $17,509,674 in benefits being located for Tennesseans. By comparison, from January 1, 2018, to August 10, 2018, $6,808,924 was located.
As a first step in locating a loved one’s lost policy, TDCI suggests looking through papers or financial records to see if you can find where payments were being made to an insurance company. If consumers find any documents with an insurance company name listed, consumers are advised to contact the company directly and ask if a life insurance policy can be located.
(Source: WVLT)