A lot depends on the type of unclaimed money you mean, really. As a general rule of thumb, if you can prove it’s yours, then there’s no time limit on which you can claim the money. This is certainly true with banks. The account might go dormant if not used in three years, but the funds can still be accessed. Although there are government plans to take money unclaimed after 15 years as use it for good works, if anyone turned up with a valid claim after that time they’d still be able to take their money.
Since you say your mother had a policy, you’re probably talking about a life insurance policy, however. There are plenty of unclaimed life insurance policies out there – about £2 billion worth, according to estimates.
First thing, you need to establish whether the company still exists, or if it’s been swallowed up by another. If you can’t locate the insurance company immediately, then contact the Association of British Insurers (their web address is www.abi.org.uk). They will be able to search their records and locate the company for you, and they also have contact details for all existing insurance companies.
Tell us what might be out there and we will map out the exact UK services to search, in the right order, to track down unclaimed money.
Try our Unclaimed Money Tracer free, here on this site →When you contact the company, you’ll obviously need to present the policy, proof of your own identity, and – especially important – the right you have to have to the policy, which will mean producing your mother’s will to indicate she left it to you.
From there it should be plain sailing, allowing some time for the wheels of bureaucracy to grind of course, but within a few months you should have the money from the policy, assuming all the papers are in order.
Your question, though, is about time limits. In most instances, there are no limits on the time you have to make a claim on unclaimed funds. However, exceptions do exist under some circumstances, although there’s no obvious reason why they should apply in your case. The best advice to offer is to begin your claim immediately and push it along as quickly as possible. In all likelihood there will be no problem with your claim at all.
Your situation may be slightly different. ask a question below ↓ and our editorial team will reply with our advice.
i contacted his ex wife as details were given on death cert could i claim any money in his bank that was left or did his ex wife still have authority over his account .
We have been advised by the deceased's son that we should make enquiries as to whether there was any Australian State pension payable to the deceased until his death, which was 8th September 2016. Please give me the contact details of whom we should communicate with and advise what your requirements are so that we can make suitable enquiries.
Many thanks.
Bosse&Associates, Parklands, Cape Town, South Africa.
Ask Unclaimed Finances a question
Ask our editorial team a question and we will reply with our advice. Tell us as much about your situation as you can: the more detail you give, the more useful our answer can be.
You do not need to use your real name. Please do not include your full address, phone number, email address, or the names of other people. We may edit or remove identifying details for privacy and legal reasons.
Comments are moderated before publication.