IL Dept. of Insurance Helps Residents Collect Unclaimed Life Insurance Money

By Benjamin Cox on September 14, 2019 at 6:52pm

Illinois officials say residents have been able to collect more than $15 million from lost or unclaimed life insurance policies this year with help from the Department of Insurance.

Illinois Department of Insurance Director Robert Muriel says about 25 percent of life insurance policies aren’t paid to beneficiaries because family members are unaware of the coverage or don’t have necessary paperwork. “Our numbers show it may be a larger issue than expected,” said Muriel, “We are seeing a large number of consumer inquiries and expect that to continue as more people become aware of this valuable tool. Once our life and annuities consumer unit receives the form, the information is sent to over 500 companies licensed to sell life insurance in Illinois, and then, the companies respond both to our insurance department and the consumer.”

Muriel says residents can get help finding insurance policies issued to a deceased family member by filing a request online.

He says State of Illinois law requires insurance companies to try and locate someone’s beneficiaries, but residents who think an insurer failed to pay can get help from the state.