03/26/13 Beneficiaries of long forgotten insurance policies may soon be able to recover proceeds they never knew existed.  Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller announced today that $18,026,392.08 in unclaimed property has been recovered through agreements with some of the nation’s largest life insurance providers.  The money is the result of unclaimed insurance proceeds previously held by American International Group, Inc., John Hancock (Manulife), MetLife, Inc. and Prudential Financial, Inc.

The Attorney General commended those companies which have entered into agreements with the state.

“This is a positive example of an industry working with the State of Indiana to ensure that Hoosiers receive proceeds as their loved ones intended,” Zoeller said.

The agreements came after audits performed by Verus Financial LLC on behalf of Indiana and multiple other states.  So far, Indiana has received more than 20,000 unreported insurance accounts from the audits.  The properties belong to Hoosiers who may have forgotten details, misplaced a policy, or not even known they were listed as a beneficiary on an account.

These initial funds are only a portion of the proceeds that are expected to be uncovered as the state continues to work with the auditor to identify other companies and accounts that have never been remitted as Unclaimed Property.  As part of this process, more than $3 million of additional life benefits have already been returned to Hoosiers through the due diligence process conducted by providers.

“Indiana’s leadership in this audit process reflects our commitment to the rightful owners of unclaimed property,” Zoeller said.  “It’s our obligation to do what we can to seek out these types of funds and to return them to the rightful owners.  The recovered money represents hundreds of unreported insurance accounts for Hoosiers, so it is very important that people go online and check for their name, their relatives, neighbors and friends’ names to determine if any of these funds belong to them or someone they know.”

The funds that have been turned over to the state are posted online at www.IndianaUnclaimed.gov and can be searched 24-hours a day, 7 days a week.  The Unclaimed Property Division’s toll-free number is 1-866-IN-CLAIM (1-866-462-5246).  This is a free service of the Indiana Attorney General’s Office.