State urges people to check for unclaimed property

BOSTON (AP) - The state says its newest update to the unclaimed property list in Massachusetts has 45,000 new listings owed a total of $100 million.

State Treasurer Steve Grossman says those numbers cover only the last six months. He said the new list includes people who may not know they are beneficiaries of unclaimed insurance policies the state discovered in a recent audit of major insurance companies.

Abandoned bank accounts, unclaimed insurance proceeds, un-cashed checks, stocks, dividends, and contents of unattended safe deposit boxes are among the assets turned over to the Treasury. Inactive bank accounts are considered abandoned after three years.

Grossman says hundreds of thousands of people may be able to claim some of the more than $2.4 billion in property going back years. They can check www.findmassmoney.com or call 888-344-MASS (6277).

Cox Media Group