Hoffman Overrides Governor on Unclaimed Life Insurance Bill

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Ensuring that beneficiaries of life insurance plans receive the benefits that are owed to them, state Rep. Jay Hoffman, D-Swansea, voted to override the governor’s veto of a bill to require life insurance companies to review death records and be more accountable to their plan holders.

“I applaud my colleagues in the House for siding with grieving families over the financial interests of the governor’s buddies and large insurance companies,” Hoffman said. “The simple fact is, people invest in life insurance policies year after year to ensure that if there is a death, family members would be protected with the benefits they are entitled to under the policy.”

Since 2011, the Illinois Treasure’s office has discovered over $500 million in benefits yet to be paid to families of the deceased. The Hoffman-backed House Bill 302 requires life insurance companies to check death records and ensure that beneficiaries are receiving the money that is rightfully owed to them. Additionally, the bill mandates insurance companies to update the contact information from existing accounts to ensure policies do not go unpaid.

“This is an important consumer protection measure that should have never been vetoed in the first place,” Hoffman said. “Every life insurance company has an obligation to hold up their end of the deal.”