Keane’s A+ rating is a result of the following factors:

• Business’ complaint history with BBB.
• Type of business.
• Time in business.
• Background information on business in BBB files.
• Failure to honor commitments to BBB.
• Advertising issues known to BBB.
• Potential advertising issues identified by BBB.

This accreditation comes on the heels of Keane earning the top spot in the 2011 Shareholder Services Industry Satisfaction Report conducted by Group 5, a New Jersey-based consulting and corporate services research company.  For the second year in a row, Keane received the #1 rating for lost shareholder and asset recovery services firms. This ranking also further reiterates the idea that customer satisfaction is at an all time high and complaints are rare.

Overall, 94% of the survey respondents indicated that they would invest in or recommend Keane in the future because they demonstrate such concern for protecting shareholders. For us, this is extremely good news because not only can we continue to reduce any unclaimed property complaints that do exist, but we can also reassure customers and their family members that we have their best interest in mind.

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In the same vein, it was recently announced that New York state insurance regulators are ordering life insurers to use the Social Security Death Master File for insurers who may have died and report on the effectiveness of the search. This requirement is being issued as a result of recent reports alleging that some life insurers have been using the Death Master File to try to locate annuity benefits recipients who have died – but have not been using the database to try to find life insurance policy insureds who have died.

Utilizing the database, affected insurers and benefit societies must try to determine where benefits payments are due, locate beneficiaries, make payments, and report on the initial results by September 30. The search program will continue for six months to evaluate the effectiveness. At the conclusion of the program, the New York State Insurance Department might develop an amendment to the state unfair claims practices regulations to require life insurers to perform regular Death Master File checks. The amendment could also require insurers to collect more of the information needed to track policyholders, account holders, and beneficiaries.

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Dormancy Reductions:

1) The dormancy period for checking/savings accounts and matured CDs has been reduced from five years to three years.

2) The dormancy period for money orders has been reduced from seven years to three years.

3) The dormancy period for utility deposits (defined as a refundable money deposit that a utility requires a user of the utility service to pay as a condition of initiating the service) has been reduced from three years to 18 months.

Filing Deadline:

Texas now joins Michigan in instituting a July 1st filing deadline. Specifically, under the new law the due date for filing the Texas unclaimed property report and remitting the property has been changed. Previously the due date was November 1st with a cut-off date of June 30th. The new deadline is July 1st with a cut-off date of March 1st. Accordingly, Texas’ due diligence statute is amended to match the new deadline. Under the new law, due diligence mailings must go out by May 1st for property deemed abandoned before March 1st. Previously, holders were required to mail a due diligence letter by August 1st for property deemed abandoned before June 30th.

Miscellaneous

The new law increases the fee per month a holder of an Texas unclaimed money order may charge for maintenance from 50 cents to one dollar.

Effective Dates

The new July 1st filing deadline and the corresponding due diligence deadline changes will become effective 1/1/13. The remainder of the changes will go into effect on 9/1/11.

Please note we will continue to track any changes regarding new Texas unclaimed property legislation in our Unclaimed Property Blog and our quarterly unclaimed property newsletter, Keanotes.

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On March 17th the Governor of Indiana signed HB 1083 into law, with an effective date of July 1, 2010. The following dormancy periods were reduced from five years to three years: (1) A demand, savings, or matured time deposit. (2) Property payable as a result of a demutualization, rehabilitation, or related reorganization of a mutual insurance company. (3) All other property not otherwise specified under the act (catch-all provision).

Indiana’s new law reducing dormancy periods takes effect the day after the cutoff date for November 2010 reporting and can therefore be confusing as to whether it applies to the November 2010 reporting period, which is does not. To clarify any confusion, Indiana issued an update on their website. Initially, the Indiana website wrongly indicated that the new law affected the November 2010 reporting. The website has been corrected and now reads:

Effective July 1, 2010 the statutory holding period for certain properties has changed from five (5) years to three (3) years. For the property types affected, see I.C. 32-34-1-20 as amended, by clicking amended holding periods. The amended holding periods must be reflected in the report of holders due NLT November 1, 2011.

We will continue to track any changes regarding Indiana unclaimed property law & legislation in our unclaimed property blog and our quarterly unclaimed property newsletter, Keanotes.

Should you have any questions or require additional information, you may also contact me directly via email at sregan@keaneco.com.

Sincerely,
Scott Regan
Vice President
The Keane Organization

Fill out our contact form for personalized guidance

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Join Us In Philadelphia For A Summit On Managing & Reporting Unclaimed Property

Annual Summit to Address Growing Need for Organizations to Proactively Report Unclaimed Property

Keane Unclaimed Property to Host 6th Annual Unclaimed Property Educational Summit in Philadelphia – the major topic? Why it’s important to proactively report unclaimed property.

Wayne, Pa. – April 5, 2010 – Keane Unclaimed Property, a global provider of unclaimed property compliance and risk management solutions, announced today it will hold its 6th Annual Unclaimed Property Educational Summit in Philadelphia on April 28.

Hosted by Keane Unclaimed Property, the Summit will take place from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Courtyard Marriott in Center City Philadelphia.

The event will provide attendees with the knowledge to determine their organization’s risk for audit, best practices to improve internal controls and essential guidelines on first time and/or voluntary compliance.

This yearly summit offers holders of unclaimed property a confidential environment to discuss changes in state escheatment laws and their affect on abandoned property compliance reporting.

“In this current economic environment, the regulatory landscape is constantly evolving – making it more important for organizations to address their unclaimed property proactively,” said Gail Warner, President of Keane Unclaimed Property.

“As states increase their enforcement efforts, those whose job it is to manage unclaimed property and manage risk and compliance within their organization need to arm themselves with the necessary knowledge and information on changing requirements to reduce the threat of audit.” 

Agenda highlights include Leading Jurisdictional Case Law, Audit Preparation and Expectations and Foreign Unclaimed Property Law, amongst other topics specific to managing & reporting unclaimed property.

In addition to networking with industry peers and participating in holder-friendly private discussions with Keane Unclaimed Property specialists, guests can earn continuing professional education (CPE) credits for their participation.

For more information, please visit www.HolderAdvocate.com.

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