Governor Signs Bill That Will Increase Timeframe for Lost Policy Searches: Measure brings New York into conformance with structure used by the rest of the country.

* The Life Insurance Council (LICONY) commends Governor Cuomo for signing into law a measure that amends the Insurance Law to increase the timeframe for insurers to complete lost life insurance policy searches from 30-45 days to 60 days. The bill to extend the policy search time was a LICONY initiative.

The Lost Policy Finder is a free-of-charge service to assist families in locating unclaimed benefits on life insurance policies and annuity contracts owned by deceased immediate family member.

The Governor's signature on this bill brings NY into conformance with the timeframe given to companies to complete a search under the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) system which has been adopted by every state in the country.

"New York joined the NAIC's lost policy system in an effort to help more families receive benefits for life insurance and annuity policies that cannot be located by immediate family members. However, running searches through several databases to identify lost policies takes time--especially with the large volume of requests," said Mary Griffin, President & CEO of LICONY. "This law will allow New York companies the necessary time to exercise due diligence in completing these searches and delivering unclaimed benefits to New York families."

LICONY thanks bill sponsors Senator Neil D. Breslin (D-Albany/S.3639), chair of the Standing Committee on Insurance and Assemblywoman Pamela J. Hunter (D-Syracuse/A.3075)...