Posted on Monday, 28th November 2011 by Keane Unclaimed Property Team

As you may know, in December of 2010 Venio LLC acquired The Keane Organization to form the premier unclaimed property firm in the country, now known in the marketplace simply as “Keane”.  Although The Keane Organization had been a member of the Better Business Bureau (BBB) for more than 20 years, the “new” Keane was required to reapply for accreditation with the BBB in the New York Metropolitan area, where the combined company is headquartered. Now that the Keane unclaimed property review is complete, we are happy to announce that we received our accreditation and an A+ rating from the BBB.  CEO Mike O’Donnell credits the success to the quality of services provided by the Legal Claimant Services division to heirs, beneficiaries and estate representatives.

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.

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Posted on Monday, 1st August 2011 by Keane Unclaimed Property Team

In the last year, the spotlight has been on the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill. Part of that bill includes proposed amendments to SEC Rule 17Ad-17 that will extend requirements in the handling of lost shareholders and unclaimed property to the previously exempt broker/dealer community. The proposed Rule would require broker/dealers to exercise reasonable care in finding lost security holders. Once a holder is considered lost, the broker/dealer would be required to search for a new address for the account holder.

In its current state, the proposed rule promises to create five major points of impact on the broker/dealer community. The five challenges are: Read More »

Posted on Wednesday, 25th May 2011 by Keane Unclaimed Property Team

With states continuing to enforce the rules of unclaimed property, insurance companies are the clear current focus. The insurance website Life and Health National Underwriter reported last Wednesday that the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (FOIR) had announced a settlement agreement with John Hancock Life Insurance Company.  As we shared in an earlier blog, this settlement stems from the recent audits by Verus Financial LLC of many insurance companies on behalf of as many as 37 states. Verus and the states are looking into the practices of some insurance companies regarding how claims settlements are handled with respect to annuity contracts, life policies and retained asset accounts. Read More »

Posted on Monday, 25th April 2011 by Keane Unclaimed Property Team

California unclaimed property continues to make big news this week – this time in their unclaimed property audits of the insurance industry. Last Friday, April 22nd, California State Controller John Chiang made the announcement that the state had settled with insurer John Hancock regarding an audit that was initiated in 2008. The settlement is apparently the first of many that Chiang expects, stemming from audits of 21 insurance companies that have been taking place. The purpose of the audits according to Chiang is to determine the insurance industry’s compliance with state unclaimed property laws.

Read More »

Posted on Thursday, 14th April 2011 by Keane Unclaimed Property Team

We’ve seen the word “escheatment” achieve a new level of notoriety over the past several months, and it’s largely due to the recent wave of unclaimed property penalties and notices that have been sent out by the State of California Controller’s office.

These interest assessment notices are the result of a recent internal review by the Controller’s office to identify “past due” property that had been reported and was included on the unclaimed property reports filed since 2007. Read More »

Posted on Wednesday, 30th March 2011 by Keane Unclaimed Property Team

Proposed on February 17, 2011 and passed on March 25, 2011, HB 174 marks the first major unclaimed property legislation passage of 2011. The bill makes two major changes to securities reporting in Idaho: (1) the dormancy trigger will now be a combination of inactivity and RPO, instead of pure inactivity, and (2) the requirements for reporting dividend reinvestment program accounts (DRP accounts) are now clearly spelled out.. More details are provided below.

Previously, Idaho only recognized pure inactivity as a dormancy trigger for securities. Under HB 174, any stock, shareholding or other intangible ownership interest in a business association is “considered” abandoned if the owner of such interest (1) fails to either claim a dividend, distribution, or other sum payable or communicate with the association regarding the interest or a dividend, distribution; and (2) the location of the owner is unknown at the end of the five (5) year dormancy period.

Read More »

Posted on Monday, 21st March 2011 by Keane Unclaimed Property Team

Last week, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported that Costco is suing the State of Washington over $3.2 million in unclaimed rebates. The lawsuit is in response to an order mandated by the state in February that Costco owed more than $3 million in unused rebates. The state says the funds belong in a state-managed program for consumers who want to claim the rebates. In Costco’s suit, however, the company alleges it should not have to turn over the requested funds as it engaged a third party rebate house to manage its rebate program. Because the company does not retain the amounts at issue, it doesn’t believe it owes the state anything.

The $3.2 million represents unclaimed Costco rebate from 2004 to 2010, plus interest.

Read More »

Posted on Monday, 31st January 2011 by Keane Unclaimed Property Team

Valerie M. Jundt Joins Keane to Lead National Consulting & Advisory Group

Last week, we announced that unclaimed property consultant, Valerie M. Jundt, joined our team as the National Managing Director of our National Consulting & Advisory Services group. Valerie will be leading this practice from her office in Bismarck, North Dakota.

We’re thrilled to have Valerie on board as her extensive professional abandoned property experience and reputation in the industry dovetails with our goal of providing a comprehensive suite of unclaimed property compliance services to our clients.

Read More »

Posted on Thursday, 20th January 2011 by Keane Unclaimed Property Team

Last week we blogged about how some of the states are beefing up their unclaimed property audit programs to continue aggressively targeting companies who are not complying with unclaimed property laws.

Adding its name to the list of states hiring or renewing auditors, Texas has just announced it has awarded two contracts for providing professional unclaimed property audit services.

To bolster their unclaimed property audit program, Texas has hired Verus Financial, LLC and ACS State & Local Solutions, Inc.

Verus Financial has been hired for a contract term of November 9, 2010 through August 31, 2011 with the option for two additional one-year renewals. ACS State & Local Solutions, Inc. has been hired for a contract term of December 16, 2010 through August 31, 2011 with the option for two additional one-year renewals. Read More »

Posted on Thursday, 16th December 2010 by Keane Unclaimed Property Team

WINTER 2011 (Current through 12/13/10)

Gift Card Escheatment Regulations

CALIFORNIA GIFT CARD ESCHEATMENT
SB 885
Introduced 1/19/2010, Passed 8/25/2010, Vetoed by Governor 9/24/2010
This bill would require that a gift certificate with a cash value of less than $10 be redeemable in cash for its cash value, and would require that a gift certificate contain a statement to that effect. This bill would also delete the exceptions to the prohibition on the sale of a gift certificate that contains a dormancy fee. Read More »