We were talking about life insurance policies and what happens if the beneficiary cannot be located after the policyholder's death. The insurance company will look for beneficiaries for a certain amount of time, and then they will transfer the funds to the state.

In 2009, the insurance industry held an estimated $1.3 billion in unclaimed benefits. About $351 million was transferred to states that year. These numbers could be low, according to the researcher.

Claiming the money is easy, if you know how. Again, it's held by individual states, so there isn't one phone number or one government website you can use to find out if Aunt Gladys named you a beneficiary of her substantial life insurance policy.

There are companies that track life insurance policies. Typically, the policyholder registers with the company for a flat fee, and the company monitors whether members are still living. When a member dies, the company notifies the beneficiaries.

One organization tracks life insurance applications going back 14 years. But not every application results in a purchase. Actual policyholders cannot be differentiated from application-only names.

Finally, there are the tracers. These are the companies that will pore over public records in search of your unclaimed or lost property -- for a fee. A tracer will hand over the information for a cut of what you recover.

Somehow, it seems easier to let your personal representative know about the policy. Or, let the beneficiary know. We talk about intent in this blog all the time, and it's certainly an issue here. If you intend for the policy payout to help your heirs, figure out a way to make sure they get it. It would be a shame to have the insurance company or the state benefit instead of your loved ones.

Source: New York Times, "Tracking Down and Collecting Unclaimed Life Insurance," Paul Sullivan, 02/ 25/2011