Q. What are unclaimed assets? A. Unclaimed assets are benefits or even blessings that have been dormant and have not be claimed by their owners or beneficiaries.
Q. How come so many assets fall into this category? A. People do not notify address changes; Customers forget about their investments, and that forgetfulness becomes permanent; People make investments without telling their spouse. The surviving partner is unaware that funds are due to the estate; Companies change their names
Q. How much money is unclaimed in the UK? A. Approximately 15.3bn!
Q. What sorts of assets come under this category? A. Dormant bank and building society accounts; life insurance policies, unredeemed National Savings certificates and premium bonds or even unclaimed National Lottery Tickets.
Q. How do I claim my share of this money? A. To make a claim you should try and gather as much information as possible regarding the claim. You will obviously need to provide the personal details of the account holder or beneficiary, their last known address and any previous addresses and of course any previous names and their date of birth in order to make your claim as well as the details of the account type and any other details that may be useful to help trace the account and enable you to reclaim your assets.
Q. My claim relates to National Savings and Premium Bond prizes, how do I claim? A. Use the online using the prize checker at nsandi.com
Q. What about Life Insurance policies? A. If you are trying to trace an insurance company that may have changed its name or owner, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) recommends you should contact the Financial Services Authority. If you are trying to trace a life insurance policy, but do not know the name of the company, you should contact the Unclaimed Assets Register, which is owned by Experian, the Credit Reference Agency. The UAR (http://www.uar.co.uk/) do charge a fee currently £25.
Q. I've finally found my lottery ticket, can I claim my prize? All prizes need to be claimed within 180 days of the draw date, after which time the money will go to the Good Causes.
Q. My claim relates to a bank, how can I get my hands on the cash? A. Visit www.mylostaccount.org.uk to trace a bank or building society or National Savings or investments (NS&I). This service is provided free of charge and you are strongly advised not to pay a fee of any kind to search for your old bank account, building society or NS&I.
Q. What about claiming from my old Building Society that has changed its name or been bought by a bank? A. Use the same facility used for banks.
Q. The bank or building society or National Savings have contacted me to say they have found an account that I am looking for, what next? A. You will need to be able to provide official documentation to confirm your identity.
Q. Is there anything else I can do to keep track of my assets? A. In addition to all the other items mentioned, also keep a record of all employment with dates and locations as you will want to ensure your beneficiaries can claim any death in service benefits and or pension entitlements. See article titles Trusts for more information
Q. How can I avoid finding myself looking for my assets in future? A. Keep a log of all your assets. You can create a simple spreadsheet with this information. The name of the account holder, the beneficiary, the account number or reference number and sort code. You may also wish to keep details of where you opened the account and how much you opened the account with. You should review all your net assets at least once a year when reviewing your annual financial plan and net worth statement. See article titled, Budgeting and Planning.
Q. I've heard that the government wants to use unclaimed monies from dormant banks and building societies for good causes if not claimed within 15 years, how will this affect my claim? This will not affect any claim you make under current legislation. Under the legislation anyone can still continue to make a claim and be paid their money.
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