SELF IMPROVEMENT

unclaimed property california state controller
California officials, setting their sights on life insurance companies, want to know whether executives are boosting profits by delaying or failing to pay death benefits quickly enough to heirs or to search aggressively for the beneficiaries.

Unpaid life insurance benefits nationwide exceed $1 billion, according to the National Assn. of Insurance Commissioners. It's not known how much of that involves California policies.

State Controller John Chiang and Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones ask whether the life insurer is boosting profits by delaying or failing to pay death benefits quickly enough to heirs or to search aggressively for the beneficiaries.