A Lake Charles woman recently received just over $200,000 in unclaimed property after the state Treasury Department found a life insurance annuity contract that her late husband had purchased but the insurance company never paid.
State Treasurer John Kennedy said the 89-year-old woman got the money as part of the department’s regular auditing of life insurance companies. According to a news release, the department contracts with the Connecticut-based Verus Financial LLC to compare life insurance records with the Social Security Death Index. Any money found goes into the department’s unclaimed property program.
“Ninety-nine percent of life insurance companies do a good job,” Kennedy said. “But some will just sit on the money until the insured contacts the company. Some people don’t know their spouse has an annuity or life insurance policy.”
Since the department began auditing life insurance companies in 2009, Kennedy said more than $46 million has been discovered. However, it is unusual for amounts to reach the six-figure mark.
“Usually the amounts are anywhere from $50 to $500,” he said. “Over a two-week period, we may see five or six claims that are in the amount of $10,000 to $20,000, but it’s a small percentage of checks we write.”
Ten years ago, Kennedy said the department returned just over $1 million to a retired teacher in New Orleans, whose husband had purchased some securities. The forwarding address had expired, causing them to build up in value.
A few months ago, Kennedy said, a 92-year-old New Orleans woman was paid $1.5 million in stocks and $500,000 in dividends. He said neighbors discovered 18 boxes of uncashed checks during a welfare check of the woman, who lived alone and had no children.
“It makes you feel like there’s some justice in the world,” Kennedy said.
While the audits have “caused some friction” with life insurance companies, Kennedy said the department has stayed aggressive in getting residents their money paid to them.
“I just think if they sell a policy and know who the insured is and how to reach them and don’t do that, that’s not right,” he said. “It’s been good for people.”
Residents can visit the treasury department’s website and search the unclaimed property online database by name, address or city.
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