Mo. State Treasurer Holding $11M in Unclaimed Life Insurance Policies

Targeted News Service

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo., Oct. 23 -- The Missouri State Treasurer issued the following news release:

State Treasurer Clint Zweifel (ZWY-ful) has now received more than $11.2 million in unclaimed insurance benefits from life insurance companies. The benefits being turned over are a result of multistate audits of the insurance industry. Many insurance companies used the Social Security Death Index to stop annuity benefit payments but they did not use the same tool to determine which life insurance policies were payable or to help them find the listed beneficiaries. Most recently, Prudential has turned over more than $2.5 million for 810 accounts in unclaimed life insurance benefits. MetLife has turned over more than $5.8 million for 5,553 accounts.

"These insurance companies did little to find the owners of these unclaimed benefits or their heirs, but now my Unclaimed Property team and I are working to do just that," Treasurer Zweifel said. "My staff works hard every day to find the owners of the property I am entrusted to oversee. In fact, I have more than $700 million waiting for more than 4.3 million account holders right now. This includes the insurance benefits as well as old bank accounts, refund checks, safe deposit boxes and more. I encourage Missourians to search regularly or sign-up for email notifications at www.ShowMeMoney.com."

In April, it was announced more than $2 million in unclaimed insurance benefits from 1,501 accounts would be turned over to Treasurer Zweifel. The unclaimed benefits result from instances where beneficiaries could not be found or were deceased following the insurance policy owner's death. All unclaimed benefits may be found on www.ShowMeMoney.com., and there is no charge for their return. As accounts from major insurance companies in the United States continue to be discovered, more accounts and money will be turned over to Treasurer Zweifel as Unclaimed Property. In the short time that Treasurer Zweifel has been custodian of the funds, he has returned nearly $175,000 to nearly 175 account owners from the Unclaimed Property insurance benefits. The amount returned will continue to grow as staff works to reunite owners or heirs with their funds.

Following is an overview of the Unclaimed Property yet to be claimed in each region of Missouri:

Kansas City Region (Bates, Carroll, Cass, Clay, Henry, Jackson, Johnson, Lafayette, Platte, Ray): $98.6 million in more than 785,000 accounts.

Mid-Missouri Region (Audrain, Benton, Boone, Callaway, Camden, Cole, Cooper, Dent, Gasconade, Howard, Maries, Miller, Moniteau, Montgomery, Morgan, Osage, Pettis, Phelps, Pulaski, Saline): $24.2 million in more than 279,000 accounts.

Northeast Missouri Region (Adair, Chariton, Clark, Knox, Lewis, Linn, Macon, Marion, Monroe, Pike, Putnam, Ralls, Randolph, Schuyler, Scotland, Shelby, Sullivan): $7.1 million in more than 75,000 accounts.

Northwest Missouri Region (Andrew, Atchison, Buchanan, Caldwell, Clinton, Daviess, DeKalb, Gentry, Grundy, Harrison, Holt, Livingston, Mercer, Nodaway, Worth): $9 million in more than 94,000 accounts.

Southeast Missouri Region (Bollinger, Butler, Cape Girardeau, Carter, Dunklin, Iron, Madison, Mississippi, New Madrid, Pemiscot, Perry, Reynolds, Ripley, Scott, St. Francois, Ste. Genevieve, Stoddard, Wayne): $14.5 million in more than 179,000 accounts.

Southwest Missouri Region (Barry, BartonCedar, Christian, Dade, Dallas, Douglas, Greene, Hickory, Howell, Jasper, Laclede, Lawrence, McDonald, Newton, Oregon, Ozark, Polk, Shannon, St. Clair, Stone, Taney, Texas, Vernon, Webster, Wright): $34.9 million in more than 404,000 accounts.

St. Louis Region (Crawford, Franklin, Jefferson, Lincoln, St. Charles, St. Louis City, St. Louis County, Warren, Washington): $202.4 million in more than 1.3 million accounts.

TNS 23SQ 121024-4080407 StaffFurigay

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