Unclaimed Property News Roundup

Asset Recovery Firm Brings Whistleblower Action Against Prudential and MetLife -- According to Courthouse News Service, an Illinois asset recovery firm claims to have "discovered" that life insurance companies were not escheating certain benefit assets properly to the State of Illinois.  As regular readers know, the states have been pursuing administrative actions against insurers for this reason for most of the year.  For their trouble, the plaintiff seeks only the thanks of a grateful state . . . and, oh yeah, about $500 million.

Unclaimed Property Mentioned on Lifehacker - The personal productivity site Lifehacker is one of our favorites.  A few days ago, Lifehacker ran a top ten list of ways to "Avoid Fees and Get Free Money."  Along with other suggestions such as switching to a credit union and maximizing those credit card award programs, the article mentioned searching for and claiming unclaimed property as an easy way to increase your funds.

Arkansas Launches Online Unclaimed Property Auction -- Arkansas will soon become the latest state to auction off unclaimed property online.  Pursuant to Arkansas Law, the Auditor of State may sell unclaimed safe deposit box property "to the highest bidder."  According to the Auditor's website, it will post listings on eBay on the last Friday of every month.  According to the Arkansas News, "technical problems" delayed the first auction scheduled for last Friday.