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NationalLife Insurance Settlement Payments:Estimates are $2.4 billion dollars in death benefits owed beneficiaries and heirs of deceased policyholders goes unclaimed each year. Because it is the job of beneficiaries to notify the life insurance company of a policy owner's death, more than one-quarter of all life insurance policy benefits go unclaimed. Family members often aren't aware a policy exists, or don't know how to track it down. ► Heirs of deceased policyholders and annuity owners may be entitled to receive restitution arising from a recent audit of twenty-one major life insurance companies that revealed insurers failed to pay death benefits to beneficiaries even in cases where they knew, or should have known, the policy holder was deceased. Further, it was determined that in many cases underwriters continued collecting policy premiums by deducting payments from the cash value of the policies. Insurance companies participating in the Global Life Insurance Settlement include: AIG, Allianz, Aviva, Forethought, Genworth, Hartford, ING, John Hancock, Lincoln National, MetLife, Midland National, Nationwide, New York Life, Northwestern Mutual, Pacific Life, Prudential, Symetra, TIAA-CREF, Transamerica and Western & Southern. These 21 companies write more than 50% of all issued and active life insurance policies nationwide. While the settlement mandates a more diligent effort be made to locate missing claimants, name changes after marriage or divorce, an unreported change of address or expired postal forwarding order after a move, and incomplete or illegible records complicate the task. ► To determine if you are entitled to receive payment go to: National Life Insurance Settlement Claims Unclaimed Policies and Mutual Life Insurance Demutualization Payments:► Life insurance policies worth $2.4 billion go unclaimed every year, because family members fail to notify the insurance company when a policyholder dies, and little effort is made to find lost heirs and beneficiaries.In addition to unclaimed policy benefits, heirs and beneficiaries may be entitled to Demutualization Payments and Settlement Compensation arising from a recently concluded multi-state audit of the nation's largest insurers. Demutualization is the process of converting a mutual life insurance company, owned by its policyholders, to a publicly traded stock company owned by shareholders, pursuant to a plan of conversion approved by government regulators. Many of the nation's oldest and largest life insurers - including Prudential, John Hancock and MetLife - began as mutual insurance companies, owned by their policyholders. In recent years most have now converted to ownership by stockholders, via a process known as demutualization. Mutual life policyholders (and heirs) continue to be entitled to receive whatever policy benefits may be due, but in addition receive stock, cash and/or policy credits in exchange for their ownership interest in the old mutual insurance company. The amount paid to each policyholder is based on a number of factors, including length of time the policy has been in force, face value of the policy, and total premiums paid. ► For many policyholders, the windfall arising from demutualization can be substantial, and the financial benefits continue to accrue after a company demutualizes.As shareholders, demutualized life policyholders are now entitled to share in the company's profits via stock dividends, and benefit from its growth in the form of an appreciated share price. Shares may be sold at any time, without affecting policy benefits. ► Millions of missing policyholders and heirs aren't aware they are entitled to receive demutualization compensation. A recent government audit found 21 major life insurance companies failed to pay death benefits to beneficiaries even in cases where they knew the policy holder was deceased.When John Hancock demutualized, it did not have current addressed for 400,000 policyholders. Prudential could not find 1.2 million policyholders entitled to receive compensation, and MetLife estimates 60 million shares of stock arising from its demutualization - worth billions of dollars - went unclaimed. Contact efforts were unsuccessful, due to name changes after marriage or divorce, unreported changes of address, expired postal forwarding orders and non-current beneficiary information. ► By law, unclaimed demutualization compensation is remitted to the custody of a government trust account until claimants come forward.Government custodians recently collected $22.8 billion in a single year, of which less than $1 billion was reclaimed. Current and former policyholders and their heirs - the majority of whom are unaware they're entitled to unclaimed stock and/or cash - should initiate a database search. Click on the search icon or select a company from the list below.
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