An ongoing problem plaguing the insurance industry could actually turn out to be a net benefit for advisors whose clients are caught up in this controversial subject
A Washington man is almost half-a-million dollars richer thanks to a recent public relations stunt by Inside Edition that uncovered an unclaimed life insurance policy held by the man’s late father.
“You've got to be kidding me,” Langbauer said when Inside Edition gave him the good news last week. “Are you serious? How did this happen?”
Springing the news on Langbauer were Inside Edition’s Lisa Guerrero and Virginia State Treasurer Manju Ganeriwala.
“Scott, let me tell you how delighted I am we found you,” Ganeriwala told him. “This is life insurance proceeds that belongs to you.”
Langbauer got the good news while working at a grocery store in a local suburb. The butcher was informed by Inside Edition that they’d located a policy worth $401,982 that was sitting in the State Treasurer’s vault in Richmond, Virginia. Life insurance policies and other unclaimed treasures held for claim in the state of Virginia alone amount to $1.7 billion.
Unclaimed life insurance policies have become big business in North America. Estimates suggest that more than $4.4 billion has been returned to beneficiaries in recent years with more than $1 billion still outstanding.
Often what happens is that the policy holder dies but the insurance company isn’t informed of their death. Under U.S. rules insurance companies can keep unclaimed policies until the policy holder reaches 100 putting the ultimate beneficiary in a holding pattern when it comes to collecting on the policy’s value.
Finding unclaimed policies is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Dual licensed advisors could turn this into a net benefit by helping clients find outstanding policies they didn’t know existed or had forgotten about.
Forget “buy term and invest the difference” and instead go for “find life and invest the proceeds.”
“You've got to be kidding me,” Langbauer said when Inside Edition gave him the good news last week. “Are you serious? How did this happen?”
Springing the news on Langbauer were Inside Edition’s Lisa Guerrero and Virginia State Treasurer Manju Ganeriwala.
“Scott, let me tell you how delighted I am we found you,” Ganeriwala told him. “This is life insurance proceeds that belongs to you.”
Langbauer got the good news while working at a grocery store in a local suburb. The butcher was informed by Inside Edition that they’d located a policy worth $401,982 that was sitting in the State Treasurer’s vault in Richmond, Virginia. Life insurance policies and other unclaimed treasures held for claim in the state of Virginia alone amount to $1.7 billion.
Unclaimed life insurance policies have become big business in North America. Estimates suggest that more than $4.4 billion has been returned to beneficiaries in recent years with more than $1 billion still outstanding.
Often what happens is that the policy holder dies but the insurance company isn’t informed of their death. Under U.S. rules insurance companies can keep unclaimed policies until the policy holder reaches 100 putting the ultimate beneficiary in a holding pattern when it comes to collecting on the policy’s value.
Finding unclaimed policies is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Dual licensed advisors could turn this into a net benefit by helping clients find outstanding policies they didn’t know existed or had forgotten about.
Forget “buy term and invest the difference” and instead go for “find life and invest the proceeds.”
