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GOVERNOR CUOMO ANNOUNCES MORE THAN $665 MILLION IN UNCLAIMED LIFE INSURANCE BENEFITS PAID TO DATE AS A RESULT OF STATE INVESTIGATION

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that an investigation started by the Department of Financial Services in July 2011 has resulted in more than $665 million being paid to life insurance beneficiaries who were unaware that they were entitled to money from insurance companies.

Before DFS put in place new regulations in 2012, insurance companies did not regularly seek out beneficiaries to pay death benefits, but instead waited for someone to make a claim. However, a significant number of people are not aware that they are named on a life insurance policy by a relative and so do not make a claim.

At Governor Cuomo’s direction, in July 2011 DFS began an investigation into life insurance claims practices that has so far resulted in insurers making 89,171 payments totaling $665.7 million to beneficiaries unaware they were entitled to the money, including 18,597 payments totaling $206.2 million to New Yorkers.  In May 2012, the Department adopted an emergency regulation requiring insurers to conduct these searches at least quarterly. In December 2012, Governor Cuomo signed into law legislation that makes permanent regular searches of records to identify when a policyholder died and to locate beneficiaries so that life insurance proceeds can be paid.

The new law obligates insurers to conduct data searches on a quarterly basis. In addition, the law requires that insurers:

· Search for multiple policies that a deceased policyholder may have purchased and notify the insurer’s parent company, subsidiaries and affiliates of a death so those entities can identify policies where no claims have been filed.

· Request sufficient beneficiary information at the time a policy is purchased so that benefits can be paid more quickly when a policyholder dies.

· Respond to requests for information to find lost policies or unclaimed life insurance policies in order to assist consumers using the “Lost Policy Finder,” an application on the Department of Financial Services’ website, http://www.dfs.ny.gov .

ST LAWRENCE COUNTY CASINO BID SHAKY

St. Lawrence County may have jumped too soon in their bid to get one of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s proposed new casinos. The county recently established an economic-advisory committee to study the possibility of a casino because they believe the agreement between the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe and New York State is not in “good standing.” The Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority had the same idea, and recently offered two potential sites on its property for such a casino. However, the exclusivity rights of the Tribe span seven counties: St. Lawrence, Franklin, Jefferson, Clinton, Essex, Hamilton and Warren counties. And according to WMSA news, Governor Andrew Cuomo recently restated his position that none of the proposed new casinos would be built in areas with exclusive rights for native tribes.

NYSP TROOP B 2012 STOLEN GUN REPORT

The New York State Police Troop “B” Gun Investigation Unit reported that there were 141 guns stolen in northern New York during 2012. Troop “B” includes Clinton, Essex, Franklin, St. Lawrence and northern Hamilton Counties and this information includes gun thefts reported to all law enforcement agencies within these counties. The majority of these guns were stolen from private residences.This represents a 36 % increase from 2011 when 104 guns were reported stolen.

The theft of firearms is a significant concern for the general public. Along with the increase in stolen guns, police are concerned about the inaccurate descriptions and lack of serial numbers for most long guns reported stolen. In 2012, 73% of the long guns reported stolen did not include an accurate description and serial number. As a result, the state police are encouraging gun owners to protect their gun collections and to maintain an accurate and reliable inventory of their firearms. This includes recording the make, model, caliber and serial number of every gun in their possession and immediately providing this information to police should any gun be lost or stolen. For this reason, a gun inventory record should be stored in a secure location separate from the firearms.

Below is a breakdown of the 2012 gun thefts by county:

 Clinton County – 66 stolen guns (15 handguns, 51 long guns)

 Essex County – 25 stolen guns (4 handguns, 21 long guns)

 Franklin County – 13 stolen guns (5 handguns, 8 long guns)

 St. Lawrence County – 32 stolen guns (14 handguns, 18 long guns)

 Hamilton County – 5 stolen guns (0 handguns, 5 long guns)

 

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