As you may have seen in our most recent newsletter (and if you didn't, why aren't you on our email list?!), Summer hours are now in effect at The Library. Through Labor Day, The Library will be closed on Fridays except by previous appointment.
We will periodically check email and voicemail, so if you have a rush request, do leave us a message and we will do our best to help (please note that extra fees may be incurred for the rush request).
We use this time to work on projects which we can't get done during the rest of the year and to catch up on various tasks. We believe that taking this time "off" in the summer better prepares us to meet the needs of our patrons throughout the rest of the year.
Showing posts with label Insurance Research. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Insurance Research. Show all posts
Thursday, June 5, 2014
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Consumer Services for Lost Life Insurance
One of the many services that The Insurance Library provides for consumers, is to locate current contact information for life insurers. Often people obtain a policy when they first start working, get married or have their first child. They then stick with that policy for the next 50 or so years. In the meantime, the policyholder may receive a letter or two informing him of mergers, acquisitions or just name changes. Unless they're hoarders (and let's be honest, even if they are how would they find a particular piece of paper?), most people end up throwing out the update. When the time comes for beneficiaries to make claims, they only have that original policy with a company name that might be three times removed from the current name. The Library is always happy to use our resources to help consumers trace the insurance company forward and provide them with current contact information.
A recent article in the New York Times caught my eye, though. It deals with another request we often get from consumers, lost policies. Sometimes a person calls and, instead of having a copy of that original policy, (giving us a foot in the door on the research) they just know that their loved one had a policy, but can't find any documents mentioning with which insurance company the policy was placed.
It's unfortunate, but there's not much we can do in a situation like that. If the person who died worked for a company for a significant amount of time, it's often useful to contact that company and see if there was a group life policy put in place through them. They would be able to let the beneficiary know which life insurance company they used and benefits can be found that way. There are also some companies out there who can try and trace if the person applied for life insurance, but it costs money to initiate the trace and they don't always get results.
The Insurance Information Institute has a great article outlining steps consumers can take when searching for lost life insurance policies.
State insurance regulators in at least 30 states are working hard to make lost policies less of a problem. The New York Times article I mentioned above discusses three life insurance companies who have settled with various states over "failing to keep track of policyholder deaths, trapping money that should have gone promptly to the beneficiaries." The companies have pointed out that: "Contractual language in the life policies says the survivor, or a representative, must file a claim to receive the payment. State insurance regulators said [the companies] made the case that they had not broken any laws by failing to seek out the survivors, but could have done more than they did."
We'll see how this issue progresses and if there are any major developments we'll try to write on this topic again!
A recent article in the New York Times caught my eye, though. It deals with another request we often get from consumers, lost policies. Sometimes a person calls and, instead of having a copy of that original policy, (giving us a foot in the door on the research) they just know that their loved one had a policy, but can't find any documents mentioning with which insurance company the policy was placed.
It's unfortunate, but there's not much we can do in a situation like that. If the person who died worked for a company for a significant amount of time, it's often useful to contact that company and see if there was a group life policy put in place through them. They would be able to let the beneficiary know which life insurance company they used and benefits can be found that way. There are also some companies out there who can try and trace if the person applied for life insurance, but it costs money to initiate the trace and they don't always get results.
The Insurance Information Institute has a great article outlining steps consumers can take when searching for lost life insurance policies.
State insurance regulators in at least 30 states are working hard to make lost policies less of a problem. The New York Times article I mentioned above discusses three life insurance companies who have settled with various states over "failing to keep track of policyholder deaths, trapping money that should have gone promptly to the beneficiaries." The companies have pointed out that: "Contractual language in the life policies says the survivor, or a representative, must file a claim to receive the payment. State insurance regulators said [the companies] made the case that they had not broken any laws by failing to seek out the survivors, but could have done more than they did."
We'll see how this issue progresses and if there are any major developments we'll try to write on this topic again!
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Auto Insurance Codes
We realize that not everyone has taken the time to explore the resources we've posted on our website, so we thought we might highlight some here on our blog.
From time to time, we get calls asking for the name of a company based on a company code. While we're more than happy to answer these calls, we do have links on our website to the Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey insurance company codes. While there may be other states that use auto insurance company codes, these are the three we get asked for most frequently.
These codes are codes that are assigned by the department of motor vehicles (or, in Massachusetts, by the Commonwealth Auto Reinsurers). They should not be confused with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners codes or with the codes that A. M. Best assigns companies. For one thing, the NAIC and AM Best assign company codes to more than just auto Insurance Companies.
If you're interested in finding the company name associated with an NAIC code, you can go to their consumer information source and look it up. You can also find out information on the company's financials and consumer complaints. If you're interested in recent Annual Statements, you can find that information there as well.
For A. M. Best Company Codes, you can go to the Company and Rating Search section of their website and look up a company by their A. M. Best Number (or by the NAIC number if you care to). Not only will it tell you the company name, but it will also provide you with contact information and, if you're a subscriber, related articles.
We hope that this information makes your research easier!
From time to time, we get calls asking for the name of a company based on a company code. While we're more than happy to answer these calls, we do have links on our website to the Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey insurance company codes. While there may be other states that use auto insurance company codes, these are the three we get asked for most frequently.
These codes are codes that are assigned by the department of motor vehicles (or, in Massachusetts, by the Commonwealth Auto Reinsurers). They should not be confused with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners codes or with the codes that A. M. Best assigns companies. For one thing, the NAIC and AM Best assign company codes to more than just auto Insurance Companies.
If you're interested in finding the company name associated with an NAIC code, you can go to their consumer information source and look it up. You can also find out information on the company's financials and consumer complaints. If you're interested in recent Annual Statements, you can find that information there as well.
For A. M. Best Company Codes, you can go to the Company and Rating Search section of their website and look up a company by their A. M. Best Number (or by the NAIC number if you care to). Not only will it tell you the company name, but it will also provide you with contact information and, if you're a subscriber, related articles.
We hope that this information makes your research easier!
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