The State Corporation Commission’s Bureau of Insurance, in partnership with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, is encouraging Virginians to search for abandoned assets through a free life insurance policy locator.
Virginia Insurance Commissioner Scott White said hundreds of Virginians have already made use of the locator tool to find forgotten insurance policies and annuities that may have sat for years.
“Hundreds of Virginians have already recovered millions of dollars entitled to them by using this service,” Virginia Insurance Commissioner Scott White said in a news release. “It utilizes NAIC technology to enable consumers to secure money that was promised to them through insurance contracts.”
Since the site’s launch in November 2016, nearly $4.5 million has been recovered by 392 Virginians, according to the release. The tool is free to the public to use.
Nationally, thousands of consumers have used the tool and found lost or misplaced life insurance policies or annuities. More than $165 million has been recovered so far.
Requests to the database are encrypted to maintain confidentiality, according to the release.
Information submitted through the site is used by the NAIC to ask companies to search their records for the lost money.
Tips for submitting information to the site:
- Determine which insurance company may have sold the life insurance policy in question
- Determine which agent or broker sold the policy, or whether the policy was purchased through another organization.
- Have the personal details about the individual who may have bought the policy or annuities such as the individual’s full name, Social Security number, a copy of the death certificate, and the state where the policy or annuity was purchased.
If a beneficiary for a life insurance policy cannot be found, life insurance companies are required to turn the money over to the state’s unclaimed property office if the benefits remain unclaimed “after a certain number of years,” the release states.
For additional questions about the abandoned assets tool call the Consumer Services Section of the Virginia Bureau of Insurance Life and Health Division toll-free at 877-310-6560 or visit www.scc.virginia.gov/boi.
