Rep. Carroll Votes for Legislation to Safeguard Life Insurance Beneficiaries

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – In response to the governor’s veto of consumer protections for life insurance beneficiaries, state Rep. Jonathan Carroll, D-Buffalo Grove, voted last week to increase the level of outreach life insurance companies undertake when searching for beneficiaries that might be unaware their loved one had life insurance.

“Our loved ones purchase life insurance to cover the incredibly expensive costs of health care, funeral arrangements and the loss of income,” Carroll said. “It is unconscionable that the big life insurance companies are using the money rightfully owed to families to pad their own profits.”

Since 2011, the Illinois Treasurer’s office has discovered over $500 million in benefits yet to be paid to families of the deceased. 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 update contact information from existing accounts to ensure policies do not go unpaid.

“The big insurance companies already have enough representation in Springfield,” Carroll continued. “I am going to be sticking up for families by fighting for legislation that provides families what they are rightfully owed.”