BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - State Treasurer John Kennedy says routine audits of life insurance company policies have uncovered $35 million that should have been paid to Louisiana residents.
Kennedy, in a news release Wednesday, said the department recently paid $80,000 to a New Orleans widow who didn't know her late husband had a life insurance policy.
Working with Versus Financial LLC, Kennedy's office compares outstanding policies to the Social Security Death Master File. Kennedy says insurance companies often don't make concerted efforts to locate heirs, resulting in unpaid policies.
The Louisiana Treasury has been conducting the audits since 2009.
So far this year, Kennedy says claimants have received $2.6 million from the policy audits.
Residents can search for missing money through the Unclaimed Property program at www.LATreasury.com or call toll free at 1-888-925-4127.