Consumers May Mistakenly Believe Life Insurance Accounts Are FDIC-Insured
August 13th, 2010The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) recently revealed concerns that consumers may mistakenly believe their life insurance accounts are FDIC-insured. This concern came in the wake of recent media reports that the life insurance industry may be holding onto money due to beneficiaries rather than issuing them lump sum checks because the interest rates they earn are higher.
Life Insurance Companies Subpoenaed Over Beneficiary Accounts
Recently, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo subpoenaed a number of life insurance companies, including Prudential Financial Inc., MetLife, Guardian Life Insurance, New York Life Insurance Co., Genworth Financial Inc., Unum Group and Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance in order to investigate their life insurance policy records.
The normal practice after a policyholder dies is for a life insurer to place money into a retained-asset account, which earns interest that can be withdrawn at any time.