$10 million in life money claimed in 2015-16

In ASIC’s 2015-16 annual report, $10.02 million of life insurance claims received by the corporate regulator was paid to owners during the past financial year, slightly down on the $10.34 million paid in 2014-15.

The report found that around $9.7 million was paid out in principal, while just under $0.3 million was paid in interest.

ASIC reported in April that $65 million from life insurance policies was left unclaimed and was part of a larger pool of $1.2 billion in unclaimed money.

A total of $124.4 million in claims was paid out in 2015-16, compared with $158.4 million in 2014-15.

The report also said that $46.4 million in unclaimed money was received by ASIC in 2015-16, considerably less than the $209.6 million received in 2014-15.

“This was due to the changes in the Banking Act and Life Insurance Act which returned the period of account inactivity for money to be deemed unclaimed back to seven years, formerly three years,” the report said.

Adrian Flores

Adrian Flores is a deputy editor at Momentum Media, focusing mainly on banking, wealth management and financial services. He has also written for Public Accountant, Accountants Daily and The CEO Magazine.

You can contact him on [email protected].