There is a reason why insurance companies have spend so much money advertising why you should trust them. Because if you looked at the way they operate in real life, none of us would ever pay a dime to an insurance company. My own personal take is that insurance is worst form of legalized gambling in the state. At least when you win at a casino they pay what they owe. It never seems to be the case when it comes to insurance companies, but that's my opinion you  might think otherwise. Might I offer a little proof to support my position?

A recent audit of insurance companies found that there was over $31-million dollars in unpaid life insurance benefits in our state. The main reason those benefits weren't paid? The insurance companies never took the time or made the effort to notify the beneficiaries that they had money coming to them. That will make you want to take your "piece of the rock" in your "good hands" and throw it right at the head of " your good neighbor".

State Treasurer John Kennedy explained to the Louisiana Radio Network what has happened to cause such imbalance between consumers and insurance companies.

"When one of their insureds dies, instead of looking for the insureds family to give them the money, which is the purpose of life insurance, the insurance company just wants to keep the money."

Well that is certainly honest and fair isn't it? I can't imagine why there would be any trust issues. Why yes, that is the stench of sarcasm.

The reason this happens is because many times people are simply unaware that the deceased named them as a beneficiary on a life insurance policy. So what can you do to find out if there is money waiting for you?

Visit the State Treasurer's website and enter your name. This will pull up all public records related to insurance, utilities, settlements, and more. Who knows you could have a long lost uncle that really liked you or you were next in line behind other beneficiaries who were unable to collect the proceeds. It doesn't take anything but a mouse click to find out.

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