ByFind Unclaimed Insurance Money That You Are Owed
The United States Treasury Department is currently sitting on more than $80 billion, all coming from money that is still unclaimed by its rightful owners. The average amount of funds per person goes from $25 to $100, but some unclaimed property searches left people with small fortunes. Large sums of lost money usually come from deceased relatives or life insurance.
If you believe that you have unclaimed insurance money to collect, you have come to the right place.
Unclaimed Money—Explained
Unclaimed property refers to money and other assets whose rightful owners lost track of it. After a certain time, unclaimed funds are turned to the government and considered abandoned. With an average duration of five years, the dormancy period depends on the property type and the state.
Reasons for funds and assets to go missing are numerous. Usually, it has to do with outdated information, but take a look at the table below for a clearer overview:
| Reason Why Money Becomes Unclaimed | Explanation |
|
Relocation |
When a person moves, they sometimes neglect to inform the previous landlord. This way, they lose track of money-related mail |
|
Bank Failures |
Customers are unaware of the bank’s closure and don’t collect funds from their accounts or don’t know who to contact to regain their assets |
|
Unclaimed Refund Checks |
A taxpayer fails to update their contact details, and refund checks never reach them |
|
Leaving a Job |
People often forget to collect their last paychecks and bonuses after quitting the job or getting fired |
|
Passing Away Before Writing the Will |
When a person dies without leaving the will, the inherited property might get unclaimed |
What Is Unclaimed Life Insurance Money?
When a person passes away, the beneficiary claims the death benefit from the life insurance policy. If they fail to do so, insurance money gets unclaimed. This can happen when:
- The beneficiary and the life insurance provider cannot locate one another
- The life insurance provider is not aware that the insured person passed away
- People are unaware of being a beneficiary of someone’s life insurance
- The original life insurance provider does not exist anymore
The Consumer Reports study has shown that one in 600 U.S. citizens is the beneficiary of a life insurance policy that ended up unclaimed.
In 2019 life insurance companies paid over $760 billion in benefits and claims. They make a great effort to find rightful owners of unclaimed insurance money, and some even have whole teams specialized in such tasks.
Unclaimed Money From Life Insurance—Where To Start Looking for It?
Conducting your research is not an easy task, but it is better than waiting for someone to contact you. Here is what you should do first:
- Try the Life Insurance Policy Locator System from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). They can search through all insurance company databases to help you locate the unclaimed life insurance policy
- Search for the documents to see if your partner or deceased family member had life insurance in case you are not certain. You can do this by looking in the safety deposit boxes, file cabinets, or checking the bank statements
- Ask the financial professional or the past employers of the deceased person to check if they had company insurance
- Hire a private company to investigate for you
Find Missing Insurance Money on Your Own
Every state has its Treasury Department with the database, which you can browse for the life insurance policies in your name.
If you are not sure where to start looking, DoNotPay can provide all the necessary information about the Treasury Departments of each state individually.
The National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA) offers a search system for all unclaimed property, including life insurance. You can choose your state, and you will be redirected to the state’s treasury department website.
There is another search option approved by the U.S. government. It is the MissingMoney search system that allows you to browse through both state and federal databases.
Here is how you can do that:
- Open the MissingMoney website
- Enter your name, city, state, or province
- Click the Search button
If the search results include your property, you can claim it by providing your full name, address, state, city, and postal code. Email and phone numbers are also required. Once you do that, hit Continue and upload the mandatory documentation:
- Claim form that is signed and notarized
- Government-issued photo ID
- Copy of your Social Security number
- Proof that you are the beneficiary of the life insurance
How To Conduct Unclaimed Insurance Money Search With DoNotPay
Losing a loved one is the most stressful event in a person’s life, and it is not unusual for people to forget about life insurance policies and bureaucracy during that time. When they lose track of that money, people have to endure this tiresome process of claiming it.
DoNotPay came up with an easier way to do that. With our Missing Money feature, you can claim life insurance and other unclaimed property in no time!
Access DoNotPay from any , and follow these steps:
- Find the Missing Money feature
- Enter your first, last, and middle name
- Add current and previous addresses
- Click on the Claim my Property button if there is a match
We will immediately file a claim under your name. You don’t have to provide any documents and worry about your information being misused. We don’t even use Social Security numbers for the search.
Don’t Get Mixed Up in Unclaimed Money Scams
Keep in mind that various fraudsters use unclaimed money as a way to trick people into giving them personal and financial information they later use for scams. They lead people on to pay the fees for alleged unclaimed money searches or make them call a certain number charging ridiculously high rates.
A more dangerous scam involves identity theft. They lure you in with the promise of unclaimed property in your name and then take your SSN and other information necessary for stealing your identity.
To avoid being a victim of these scams, always check with your state’s treasury department or DoNotPay for unclaimed money under your name.
Try Other DoNotPay’s Outstanding Features To Make Your Life Easier
Don’t let your money sit in State Treasuries. We can help you claim it whether you live in Alabama, Texas, Oklahoma, North Carolina, New Mexico, or Virginia—all across the U.S., from Florida to Maine.
If you want to claim funds from the Bank of America, Western Union, Wells Fargo, or services like PayPal, you came to the right place.
Consult DoNotPay on unclaimed money reviews or get information on how long it takes to get unclaimed money once you file a claim.
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