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SACRAMENTO – State Controller John Chiang on Friday announced major, multistate settlements with 11 life insurance companies, including Transamerica and New York Life, over unpaid life insurance benefits.
Under the settlements, the companies have agreed to make each of their policy beneficiaries whole, pay 3 percent compounded interest, and adopt business procedures to ensure full compliance with the Unclaimed Property laws in order to protect policyholders and their families.
These multistate settlements are worth up to $763 million nationwide, with up to $86.7 million going to California beneficiaries.
“Too often, insurers have sidestepped their legal responsibility to make good on insurance policies purchased by their clients to provide peace of mind and financial security to their families,” said Chiang. “I’m pleased that these eleven companies have come forward and agreed to do what is right by their clients.”
The multi-state settlements resulted from Controller Chiang’s five-year investigation into the life insurance industry’s compliance with state unclaimed property laws.
Administered by the controller, California’s unclaimed property program is a 50-year-old consumer protection law that requires businesses to send lost or abandoned properties to the State after three years of inactivity.
The goal of the program is to safeguard private property from being lost during mergers or bankruptcies, used by private interests for ill-gotten gain, or drawn down by fees.
The controller’s investigation has revealed an industrywide practice of companies both failing to pay death benefits to the beneficiaries of life insurance policies and ignoring their legal duty to turn the money over to the state for safe keeping.
Instead, companies would draw-down the policies’ cash reserves in order to continue collecting premium payments from the deceased. Once the cash reserves were depleted, the company would cancel the policy.
Past audits also found that insurers did not routinely cross-check the owners of dormant accounts with government databases listing the deceased. In other cases, companies had direct knowledge of the policy owner’s death, but still did not notify the beneficiaries.
The companies involved in the latest settlements include: Transamerica, New York Life, Western & Southern, Pacific Life, Genworth, Hartford, ING, Symetra, Northwest Mutual, Sammons (Midland and North American) and TIAA-CREF.
Like previous settlements, the agreements announced today require the companies to do the following:
- Restore the full value of all impacted accounts dating back to 1995;
- Fully comply with California’s unclaimed property laws and cooperate with the Controller’s efforts to reunite these death benefits, annuity contracts and retained asset accounts with their owners or, in many cases, the owners’ heirs;
- Pay the policy beneficiaries 3% compounded interest on the value of the held amounts from 1995, or from the date of the owner’s death, whichever is later.
To date, Controller Chiang has reached global settlements with 18 life insurance companies, with an aggregate value of $266.7 million belonging to California beneficiaries, and an estimated $2.4 billion nationally.
These 18 companies write more than 50% of all the issued and active life insurance policies nationwide.
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LAKEPORT, Calif. – In an effort to include more of the community in the programs and projects of the Lakeport Main Street Association, the organization is conducting a membership drive during the month of June.
Businesses, residents and property owners who become members by June 30 receive these special benefits: two tickets to the Soper-Reese Theatre Classic Film Series, a complimentary glass of wine at any Main Street Gallery First Friday Fling and a buy one-get one free ticket for the Taste of Lakeport on August 24.
Membership dues are $75 per year for businesses and $50 per year for individuals. A membership application is available at www.lakeportmainstreet.com or at the LMSA desk in the lobby of the Lakeport City Hall at 225 Park St.
LMSA follows the National Trust for Historic Preservation Main Street program and provides the Lakeport community with hanging flower baskets on downtown lamp posts in the summer, Christmas decorations on the lamp posts in the winter, and seasonal banners year ‘round; produces annual events such as the Main Street Trick or Treat, Very Merry Main Street, the Taste of Lakeport, Children’s Pet Parade, July 4 arts and crafts fair and downtown clean up day.
The association also produces an historic walking tour guide and shopping guide.
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SACRAMENTO – The California Department of Food and Agriculture is announcing three vacancies on the Fertilizer Research and Education Program's Technical Advisory Subcommittee.
This subcommittee reviews and recommends fertilizer research and education projects for funding and implementation to the department's Fertilizer Inspection Advisory Board.
The Fertilizer Research and Education Program funds and facilitates research to advance the environmentally safe use and handling of fertilizing materials within the agricultural sector.
The program serves growers, agricultural supply and service professionals, extension personnel, public agencies, consultants and the public.
Applicants must demonstrate technical and scientific expertise in agronomy, plant physiology, production agriculture, principles of experimental research, and environmental issues related to fertilizing material use.
The term of office for subcommittee members is three years and members receive no compensation but are entitled to payment of necessary traveling expenses.
The subcommittee and research program are funded entirely through a mill assessment on the sale of fertilizing materials in California.
Individuals interested in being considered for an appointment should send a resume to the California Department of Food and Agriculture - FFLDRS Branch, 1220 N St., Sacramento, CA 95814 or via e-mail at
The application deadline is June 28, 2013
For further information on the Fertilizer Research and Education Program, please contact FREP staff at 916-900-5022 or visit http://cdfa.ca.gov/is/ffldrs/frep.html .
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NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – Despite signs of a gradual economic recovery, uncertainty still lingers for Californians who are expected to be cautious in their travel spending this upcoming Memorial Day holiday weekend.
AAA’s travel survey projects that just over 4.0 million Californians plan on traveling 50 miles or more this Memorial Day holiday weekend. This represents a slight decrease of -2.1 percent from last year.
“Despite the diminished tailwind for travel plans among Californians this Memorial Day weekend, many are still caving into their pent-up desires to leave town as the official summer travel season begins,” said AAA Northern California spokesperson Cynthia Harris. “Many will cut back on expenditures by traveling closer to home, and staying with family and friends.”
AAA projects almost 3.5 million Californians will drive this upcoming holiday weekend, no change from last year.
Air travel will decrease by -12.5 percent compared to 2012 figures, with just over 349,000 Californians intending to fly to their holiday getaways.
Approximately 265,000 state residents are expected to travel by other modes of transportation, such as rail, buses and watercraft. This represents a decrease of -14.3 percent compared with 2012.
The AAA survey revealed that gas prices would not impact Memorial Day travel plans for the majority of travelers (62 percent).
Many travelers (38 percent) will economize in other areas, such as reduced spending on entertainment, staying at lower priced hotels, and staying with family and friends.
Nationally, AAA projects over 34.8 million people will journey 50 miles or more during the Memorial Day weekend, representing a -0.9 percent increase compared to last year.
The AAA Leisure Travel Index shows that hotel rates at AAA Three Diamond lodgings are expected to increase over four percent from a year ago, averaging $166 per night, compared to $160 last year. Weekend car rentals rates will average $43 per day, 19 percent more than last year.
The expenditures of a West Coast family of four will average of $890 over the weekend and the average road trip will cover about 730 miles.
According to those polled in AAA’s survey, the top three favorite activities for Memorial Day weekend for West Coast families are: visiting family and friends, dining and shopping. Other popular activities include touring, sightseeing, beach activities and hiking in national and state parks.
AAA tips to avoid air travel delays
Avoid unnecessary frustration while flying, by following these defensive measures:
- Avoid delay-prone flights. Before you book, make sure you are on a flight that has a decent arrival history.
- Know your airline. Avoid airlines that are known for labor disruptions or major instances where flights have been canceled.
- Book a nonstop. If you fly direct, you won’t get stuck in a connecting city.
- Fly mornings. Whenever possible, book the first flight of the day. Delays tend to worsen later in the day.
- Leave enough time for connections. Schedule at least one hour for a connection. Give yourself more time if you have to change planes and go through security again.
- Use small airports. Avoid airline hubs whenever possible. Secondary airports are usually less congested and less prone to delays.
AAA’s projections are based on research conducted by IHS Global Insight. The Boston-based economic research and consulting firm teamed with AAA as part of an agreement to jointly analyze travel trends during the major holidays. AAA has been reporting on holiday travel trends for more than two decades.