BENGALURU : Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), whose IPO ended with a record subscription, has undrawn funds of Rs 21,336 crore, which is enough to fund two Manned Space Missions (Gaganyaan) launched with the budget of Rs 10,000 crore for get by the first mission.
According to its disclosure in Red Herring’s draft prospectus to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) prior to its IPO, LIC had more than Rs 21,500 crore in unclaimed deposits as of September 2021. Updated data shows that LIC has not claimed Rs 21,336 crore of unclaimed money as of December 2021, which is almost double the 2022-23 Bengaluru City Participatory Budget spending.
That amount has not been claimed for a maximum of 10 years, according to the Treasury, meaning they are for policies that began during or after 2012 and are available to be claimed by policyholders or legal heirs.
Policyholders and heirs can check details with LIC
The Center and Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India regulations require that unclaimed monies in excess of 10 years are remitted to the Senior Citizens’ Welfare Fund (SCWF) each year. The ministry said Rs 1,255 crore unclaimed for more than 10 years had been remitted to SCWF by September 30, 2019.
Even after such transfers to SCWF, a policyholder or claimant is still entitled to make a claim for up to 25 years.
To ensure unclaimed amounts reach beneficiaries, LIC has directed its offices to speak with policyholders and settle or adjust amounts held in unclaimed and outstanding accounts. It has made information available on its website about unclaimed amounts which policyholders or legal heirs can look up using their policy number.
“With respect to the unclaimed amount paid to policyholders or legal heirs subsequent to its transfer to SCWF, LIC has stated that it received during the 12-month period ended September 30, 2018, September 30, 2019, September 30, 2020 and 30 September 2021, amounts of Rs 4.6 lakh, Rs 1.6 crore, Rs 1.5 crore and Rs 8.1 million each were unclaimed, the ministry said.
According to its disclosure in Red Herring’s draft prospectus to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) prior to its IPO, LIC had more than Rs 21,500 crore in unclaimed deposits as of September 2021. Updated data shows that LIC has not claimed Rs 21,336 crore of unclaimed money as of December 2021, which is almost double the 2022-23 Bengaluru City Participatory Budget spending.
That amount has not been claimed for a maximum of 10 years, according to the Treasury, meaning they are for policies that began during or after 2012 and are available to be claimed by policyholders or legal heirs.
Policyholders and heirs can check details with LIC
The Center and Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India regulations require that unclaimed monies in excess of 10 years are remitted to the Senior Citizens’ Welfare Fund (SCWF) each year. The ministry said Rs 1,255 crore unclaimed for more than 10 years had been remitted to SCWF by September 30, 2019.
Even after such transfers to SCWF, a policyholder or claimant is still entitled to make a claim for up to 25 years.
To ensure unclaimed amounts reach beneficiaries, LIC has directed its offices to speak with policyholders and settle or adjust amounts held in unclaimed and outstanding accounts. It has made information available on its website about unclaimed amounts which policyholders or legal heirs can look up using their policy number.
“With respect to the unclaimed amount paid to policyholders or legal heirs subsequent to its transfer to SCWF, LIC has stated that it received during the 12-month period ended September 30, 2018, September 30, 2019, September 30, 2020 and 30 September 2021, amounts of Rs 4.6 lakh, Rs 1.6 crore, Rs 1.5 crore and Rs 8.1 million each were unclaimed, the ministry said.
