A task force comprised of officials from several states have discovered that insurers have failed to payout to beneficiaries over $1 billion worth of life insurance benefits over the last few decades.
The task force that conducted the investigations cited the main reason for the non-payout of benefits was due to the lack of knowledge on part of the beneficiaries not having known that they were actually entitled to receive the benefits. Therefore they could not come forward to make any claims.
Several large insurers that include MetLife Inc., Lincoln National Corp., and AIG Inc. have not made enough of a good faith effort to locate the beneficiaries of their policyholders. Some have even been ordered by the New York Dept. of Financial Services to check the names of policyholders against a database of deceased persons. It is likely that some sort of settlement may be reached for those who have not yet received death benefits.
This highlights another reason why it is so important to have all of your estate litigation documents accounted for and up to date as possible. As this investigation has uncovered, insurance companies are not so likely to come looking for your heirs to hand them a check.
Please consult with a professional estate litigation Attorney to organize all of your estate instruments.
*This blog entry was not written by an Attorney and should not be constituted as professional legal advice.