The Need for a Central Life Insurance Database
When you’ve purchased and paid premiums on a life insurance policy for years, you expect your loved ones to be able to access that policy, correct? Planning for your loved ones after you pass is certainly a worthwhile endeavor and one that can mean the difference between their comfort and struggling to get by. Unfortunately, these days many life insurance policies go unclaimed, even when family members are rightfully owed the money. Read on to learn more about this serious problem.
Why It Happens
Why is this such as issue? In many cases, family members do not even know that a life insurance policy existed. They may have been aware of it, but then forgotten. Or they may be aware that their family member had a policy, but have no access to the paperwork or information about the plan.
The insurance company is in charge of locating the beneficiary of the policy but, in many cases their attempts at contacts do not work, as the beneficiary has changed addresses or phone numbers. Other times, the insurance company doesn’t even know that the policy holder has passed away.
What Happens to Unclaimed Policies
After an insurance company tries and fails to locate a beneficiary, that money is transferred to the state. The state then acts as a steward of the funds and is responsible for making announcements online and in other media sources about the money. Unfortunately, most states do not have the resources to do thorough accounting of this money. For more information on corporate and state accounting, http://www.accountingcertifications.org a look into accounting certifications.
This process of transferring the funds from insurance company to state can take years. In the meantime, the insurance company and the state benefit from this cash, while the beneficiary is left penniless. Since unclaimed policies are regulated on the state level, there is no uniform, standardized way for beneficiaries to search and find unclaimed policies.
How Big is the Problem?
Since there is little recordkeeping, the size of the problem is hard to pinpoint. One professor at Indiana University estimated that $351 million dollars in unclaimed policies was transferred to states in 2009 alone. The total number of unclaimed policies and securities was more than $1 billion. That is a lot of unclaimed money that could be benefitting family members. If you're interested in learning more about the healthcare industry and healthcare research, you may be interested in attending an http://www.online-colleges.org has more information. A Central Life Insurance Database a Possible Solution
What is a way to avoid this debacle of unclaimed insurance policies? A central life insurance database. A searchable online database is a repository of insurance information, which loved ones can utilize if they ever need to access the details of your policy. This puts the power back into the hands of the beneficiary. A worldwide database like http://www.findyourpolicy.com makes it very simple and free to register your insurance information. While paperwork can be lost, the online record will always exist for your loved ones, should they need it. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/26/your-money/life-and-disability-insurance/26wealth.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all
