Life insurance and annuity benefits

The bill specifies that when a potential match occurs, the insurer must, within 90 days, complete a good faith effort, documented by the insurer, to validate the death of the insured or retained asset account holder against other available records or information. The insurer must then determine whether benefits are owed under the policy or contract and, if so, use good faith efforts to locate any beneficiaries and provide those beneficiaries claims forms and instructions for making a claim. With respect to group life insurance policies, insurers are only required to compare its records with the Death Master File if the insurer maintains certain information regarding the life insurance policy. The bill also requires insurers to implement procedures to account for discrepancies in records, such as compound last names or transposed months and dates in dates of birth. Finally, the bill prohibits an insurer from charging a beneficiary any fees or costs associated with comparing its records or verifying a match with the Death Master File.