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Protecting Life Insurance Beneficiaries
State Controller John Chiang’s audits of national insurance company practices, which started in 2008, revealed an industry-wide practice of companies failing to pay death benefits to beneficiaries. Often, companies would draw down the cash value of the life insurance policy to continue paying premiums, even when they knew or should have known the policy holder had died and the beneficiaries should be paid. The policies then would be canceled -- without notifying the policyholder or their family members.
To protect life insurance policyholders and their beneficiaries, the Controller has led the national effort to end this practice. He is pushing companies to return the full value of old policies to beneficiaries in California. If you believe you are the beneficiary of one of those policies, please click the button below to get started with your unclaimed property search:
Below is a list of companies that have reached settlements with the Controller, and agreed to restore $294.7 million in unpaid benefits to California beneficiaries. You may also contact insurance companies directly.
- AIG Insurance Company settlement; October 2012 announcement
Contact: http://www.a igcorporate.com/termsofuse/contact_us.html#life - Forethought settlement; October 2012 announcement
Contact: https://www.forethought.com/contac tus - Genworth settlement; June 2013 announcement
Contact: www.genworth.com/contact-us/service-contacts.html and 1 (888) 325-5433 - Hartford settlement
Contact: www.thehartford.com/contact-the-hartford/main-contact and 1 (860) 547-5000 - ING settlement
Contact: http://ing.us/individuals/contact-us and 1 (888) 238-4840 - John Hancock settlement; April 2011 announcement
Contact: h ttps://secure.johnhancock.com/contactus/contactus_lost_unclaimed.html - Lincoln National settlement
Contact: www.lfg.com and (800) 487-1485 - MetLife settlement; April 2012 announcement
Contact: https://www.metlife.com/ policyfinder/index.html - Midland National Life Insurance Company settlement
Contact: www.midlandnational.com/contact-us and 1 (800) 923-3223 - Nationwide settlement; October 2012 announcement
Contact: 1-800-882-2822 - New York Life settlement
Contact: www.newyorklife.com/my-account/beneficiary-policy-finder- center and 1 (800) 576-7000 - Northwest Mutual settlement
Contact: www.northwesternmutual.com/contact-us/default.aspx and 1 (414) 271-1444 - Pacific Life settlement
Contact: www.pacificlife.com/PL/Assets/Contact+Us/ and 1 (800) 347-7787 - Prudential settlement; January 2012 announcement
Contact: 1 (800) 543-1530 - Symetra settlement
Contact: www.symetra.com/About/Pages/Contact-Symetra.aspx and 1 (800) 796-3872 - TIAA-CREF settlement
Contact: www.tiaa- cref.org/public/support/contact and 1 (800) 842-2252 - Transamerica settlement
Contact: www.tra nsamerica.com/about_us/contact_us/request_info.asp - Western & Southern settlement
Contact: www.wes ternsouthernlife.com/contactus/claims/default.asp and 1 (866) 832-7719
Also, the Controller sued American National Insurance Company for refusing to turn over records needed to audit the company, which is suspected of failing to pay life insurance benefits to the heirs of deceased policy holders.