New death benefit battle rages on with life insurance companies

Insurance companies are now facing a new battle in the challenge for data management as state regulators are now requiring that they verify their life insurance policies against the data from the Social Security Death Master File. This is only the most recent of several changes that have been made by state regulators that are designed to help to identify life insurance policy beneficiaries by working with the Social Security Death Master File and checking it against the records for the insurance policies. While the actual regulations for this effort…

Read More

Women may not have enough knowledge about their life insurance policies, says MetLife

A new study from MetLife Insurance shows that working women may not be as knowledgeable about their life insurance policies as they should be. The study, titled MetLife 2011 Insurance Literacy Study, finds that 45% of working women have not taken a second look at their insurance needs since obtaining their first life insurance policy. This could leave their families at financial risk should the unexpected happen. Researchers with MetLife say that more steps should be taken to educate consumers on how their needs change over time and the importance…

Read More

Nationwide answers probing questions in Florida

Representatives from Nationwide Mutual Insurance where called upon by Florida officials to testify on how insurers handle life insurance payouts in the state. Several of the state’s insurance companies have been the target of controversy lately after being accused by regulators of holding back payouts. Allegedly, these companies withhold funds despite having full knowledge that a policyholder has passed away. According to regulators, these funds may be being held in safekeeping until they are designated as unclaimed, at which point the insurer is no longer liable for payouts. Nationwide assured…

Read More