Unclaimed Life Insurance: Ensuring Beneficiaries Receive Their Deserved Funds

It happens that some people are unaware that they have been designated as beneficiaries of life insurance, the latter having been taken out by a loved one. Let us immediately recall a basic principle: in the event of death, the savings available on life insurance must be paid to the beneficiary(ies) chosen by the subscriber thanks to what is called the beneficiary clause. But it is up to the beneficiary(ies) to request the release of the funds, for which the insurer does not have to take the initiative. However, if the beneficiary does not know that he is, he cannot initiate the process.

For its part, the insurer may not be aware of the death of the subscriber and/or may not be able to find the beneficiary(ies) due to a lack of a sufficiently explicit clause. The contract then lapses, that is to say the capital lies dormant without being claimed. The amounts involved are far from negligible. And it is in an attempt to limit the stock of unsettled contracts that a legislative arsenal has been put in place. Two historic systems, established by the Association for the Management of Insurance Risk Information or Agira, laid the foundations for insurers’ obligations: Agira 1 and Agira 2.