ATLANTA – Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens has partnered with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) to announce a free service that will help Georgia consumers in their search to locate a deceased love one’s unclaimed life insurance benefits.

“There are many Georgians who don’t know where to begin when searching for a lost life insurance policy,” said Commissioner Hudgens. “The life insurance policy locator streamlines and simplifies the process for consumers.”

The NAIC’s Life Insurance Policy Locator provides nationwide access for assistance with finding life insurance policies and annuities. An estimated $1 billion in benefits from life insurance policies are unclaimed, according to Consumer Reports.

With the new service, Georgian’s requests are encrypted and secured to maintain confidentiality. Participating insurers will compare submitted requests with available policyholder information and report all matches to state insurance departments through the locator. Companies will then contact beneficiaries or their authorized representatives.

Before utilizing this service, Commissioner Hudgens recommends that consumers conduct a diligent search of the deceased person’s records. This search should include looking through the decedent’s personal files, contacting any previous employers and reviewing bank accounts. Consumers can always contact us online at  www.oci.ga.gov or by telephone at 800-656-2298 for additional search tips.

In 2015, life insurers paid more than $74 billion in insurance policy benefits to consumers nationwide. Since 2012, the Georgia Department of Insurance has entered into 23 multi-state regulatory actions that resulted in 9,577 Georgians receiving unclaimed life insurance benefit totaling $191,000,000