Tell Me A Story

Kathy and Joseph were married in 1981. They bought a life insurance policy on Joe. They divorced in 1985 without having any children. Joe never remarried, didn’t cancel the policy, didn’t change Kathy as the beneficiary, and died in 2010. Kathy remarried, changed her last name, had two boys, moved out of state, and her second husband died in 2015. In 2018, because they could not find Kathy, the Life Insurance Company turned over to the State Unclaimed Property (UP) office $184,000 as the current value of the insurance policy on Joe.

After a few months of sleuthing - contacting Joe’s brother and a few other family members, we caught a break. One of Joe’s relatives happened to remember, Kathy’s new married name, although she thinks Kathy may have moved out of state. New Hampshire, possibly?

The day Kathy received my letter she called me. “Steve, I received a bunch of bills today and your letter. What can you tell me about Joe’s life insurance policy?” After she confirmed she was indeed married to Joe; yes, they were married for just a few years and they bought a life insurance policy; yes, she now lives in New Hampshire; and yes, she would like to have me help her recover the funds, we signed an Agreement. Kathy does have a flip phone, but doesn’t use a computer and doesn’t have an email address, so we passed all of our paperwork through the US Post Office.

We then had to put together the proof-of-ownership paperwork. These items: Joe’s death certificate and obituary, their marriage license, a copy of her driver’s license, along with an explanatory cover letter were mailed to the UP office. In return she received a Claim Form, which, if the amount given to the State is over $10,000, requires the Holder (term used for the company that gave the money to the State UP office), the insurance company, to sign the Claim Form certifying that they did give $184,000 to the State UP office in 2018. As you might imagine, this can take a while. And it did! The insurance company representative in Benefits and I exchanged multiple back and forth emails, multiple phone calls, they entered an incorrect amount for what they submitted, they sent the Claim Form to Kathy unsigned. FINALLY, all the T’s were crossed and they I’s were dotted and Kathy was able to send in the completed Claim Form.

The State can take up to 180 days to review claims, yet four to six weeks is their current rate for approving claims. My contact at the State UP office said because the amount was over $100,000 there would be additional levels of review for approval.

One of the things I work hard on is managing our collective expectations. Claims can take a while. My clients and I both need to be patient and persistent.

Here’s the time line for Kathy’s project.

Mid January I started looking for Joe, since I didn’t know he was dead. End of May I mailed first letter to Kathy after identifying her new last name and new address. Early June Kathy and I signed our Agreement. End of June initial Claim request mailed to the UP office. Late August Kathy received the semi-complete Claim Form from the State and mailed a copy of it to the insurance company for their Certification. Early September Kathy was notified that the UP office had received the Certified Claim Form from the insurance company and they would complete their review. Early October Kathy received her check.