OCI, NAIC Life Insurance Policy Locator Finds $92.5 Million
for Consumers in First Year
Madison, WI—Thousands of U.S. consumers have reaped the benefits of the Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance's (OCI) and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners' (NAIC)
Life Insurance Policy Locator during the locator's first year. The consumer tool has matched 8,210 beneficiaries with lost or misplaced life insurance policies or annuities—totaling $92.5 million returned to consumers—since its launch last November.
In Wisconsin, 121 beneficiaries have been matched with over $1,500,000.00 during that time period.
"State insurance regulators identified the scattershot, intensely manual process of helping consumers search for lost life insurance policies," said Ted Nickel, NAIC President and Wisconsin Insurance Commissioner. "Working together with the NAIC we leveraged innovation and technology to develop a bespoke solution providing an easy way for consumers to access nearly all life insurers and search for lost life insurance policies. It's been a positive partnership with the life insurers providing finality and peace of mind for consumers. The response from this project has been tremendous. We encourage everyone to use this search tool."
More than 40,000 consumers have conducted searches since the policy locator was launched. OCI and the NAIC developed the locator in 2016 to provide search capabilities to help find lost life insurance policies and annuities.
Since 2010, state insurance regulators have investigated unclaimed life insurance benefit payments. In 2015, life insurers paid more than $74 billion in insurance policy benefits to consumers nationwide.
Created by the Legislature in 1870, Wisconsin's Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI) was vested with broad powers to ensure the insurance industry responsibly and adequately met the insurance needs of Wisconsin citizens. Today, OCI's mission is to lead the way in informing and protecting the public and responding to its insurance needs.