5 Key Takeaways | 2024 Emerging Trends: Delaware Unclaimed Property VDA and Multistate Audits
Do Gift Cards Keep on Giving How the Law Affects the Consumer, the Retailer and the State
After almost a decade of frustration, the dust has finally settled on the era of life insurance/annuity unclaimed property regulation by audit. Not without pain, though, as many endured multi-state, multi-year audit processes...more
On June 3, 2020, Florida’s First District Court of Appeal issued a 2–1 decision in Patronis v. United Insurance Company of America, reversing a 2018 trial court decision in which life insurance companies had successfully...more
A California state court recently enjoined the state from enforcing two rules adopted by the Office of the State Controller without compliance with the California Administrative Procedure Act (APA) concerning the state’s...more
On July 17, 2018, the California Superior Court in San Francisco ordered declaratory and injunctive relief against the Office of the California State Controller (California Controller) in connection with the controller’s...more
New York Pushes Mutual Fund Active Share Disclosure - New York’s Attorney General issued a report on its recent investigation of fees charged by actively managed equity mutual funds and a metric known as “Active Share.”...more
The pace of developments in the unclaimed life insurance benefits space remained active in the first six months of 2018, with new judicial decisions and state legislative enactments making an impact....more
The Unclaimed Life Insurance Benefits Act, which requires insurers to periodically match their policies, annuity contracts, and retained asset accounts against the United States Social Security Administration’s Death Master...more
On September 13, New Jersey became the latest state to enact legislation governing unclaimed life insurance benefits. Gov. Chris Christie (R) signed New Jersey Assembly Bill 2511 into law as P.L.2017, s.236 (the “Act”), which...more
The fourth iteration of a uniform unclaimed property act—entitled the Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act (RUUPA or Act)—has been finalized by the Uniform Law Commission for state enactment. The new Prefatory Note,...more
The unclaimed property laws of most states are based in whole or in part on one of the multiple versions of the Uniform Unclaimed Property Act promulgated by the Uniform Law Commission. The Uniform Act was initially...more
- Fed Takes First Steps Toward Setting Capital Requirements for Some Insurers - New Wave of COI Rate Increase Lawsuits Hits the Industry - STOLI Policies Cancelled, Insurers Retain Premium -...more
In April, Florida amended its Disposition of Unclaimed Property Act (“Act”) to require life insurers to perform Death Master File (DMF) searches for all policies issued since 1992. The amended Act also provides that a DMF...more
The 2016 Uniform Unclaimed Property Act (2016 Act) was adopted unanimously by the Uniform Law Commission (ULC) in a 49-0 vote at its 2016 summer meeting. The adoption of the revised model law is a significant step forward for...more
Amendments to the Florida Disposition of Unclaimed Property Act in 2016 made significant changes to unclaimed property presumptions and insurance company obligations. See § 717.107, Fla. Stat. (2016) (the Act). Among other...more
Background - Unclaimed Property: It’s not just about life insurance. The same contingency-fee unclaimed property auditors that targeted unclaimed life insurance proceeds are now turning their focus to other types of...more
On April 12, Florida Governor Scott signed Senate Bill 0966 into law. SB 0966 amends the insurance benefits provisions of Florida’s Uniform Unclaimed Property Act, Fl. Stat. Section 717.107. These amendments effectively...more
On January 19, the Florida Senate Banking and Insurance Committee approved a Senate bill (“SB 966”) that would modify Florida’s existing Unclaimed Property Act (the “Act”) requirements regarding unclaimed insurance benefits....more
Proposed revisions to the Uniform Unclaimed Property Act were under debate this past week in Washington, DC as the Uniform Law Commission (ULC or Commission) Committee to Revise the Uniform Unclaimed Property Act (Drafting...more
On Tuesday, July 14, 2015, at their Annual Meeting the Uniform Law Commission (ULC) completed their first reading of the Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act (RUUPA or the Act). While over half of the sections comprising...more
When a U.S. insurance regulator investigates market conduct or financial solvency, its work is governed by a state law based on the NAIC Model Law on Examinations. Like the Model Law, all state laws strictly protect the...more
Background - The same State Treasurers and contingency-fee unclaimed property auditors that focused on the life insurance industry are now turning their attention to broker-dealers. Sutherland has been actively...more
The California Controller’s (Controller) latest squeeze on the life insurance industry involves: sending life insurers notices of assessment of interest on unclaimed property reported and voluntarily remitted in December...more
Last month, I wrote about reports that the SEC is seeking years of employment agreements, nondisclosure agreements and other documents in an effort to ferret out possible restraints on whistleblowers. See Is Anything Fishy...more
The Uniform Law Commission (ULC) Life Insurance Working Group (Working Group) has released its recommendations to revise the life insurance provisions of the Uniform Unclaimed Property Act of 1995 (1995 Uniform Act or...more
On August 5, Florida's First District Court of Appeal reversed a ruling issued by Florida's Department of Financial Services ("DFS") that would have triggered an insurer's duty to escheat life insurance benefits under...more