Under the terms of the Unclaimed Life Assurance Policies Act 2003, (the Act), Aviva is required to identify policies where there has been no recent communication from the policyholder and designate them as unclaimed.
What is considered an unclaimed policy?
A policy is considered unclaimed if premiums are no longer being paid and an amount is payable to the policyholder under the following conditions:
- For a fixed-term policy that matured at least 5 years ago, there has been no communication from the policyholder since the policy matured.
- For a policy without a fixed term, there has been no communication from the policyholder for at least 15 years.
What types of policies does the Act apply to?
The Act applies to:
- savings and investments policies
- savings policies with life and/or critical illness benefits
- personal pensions
- personal Retirement Savings Accounts (PRSAs)
- approved retirement funds (ARFs)
What types of policies does the Act not apply to?
The Act does not apply to:
- occupational pensions
- term assurance
- income protection policies
What happens if I have an unclaimed policy
Each January, we check to see which policies the Act applies to.
If you have a policy covered by the Act, we will contact you to find out what you want to do with your policy. For example, you could choose to receive any money due or continue with the policy if that option is available.
If you receive one of these letters, please contact us as soon as possible, but no later than 31st March of that year.
After you contact us, we will remove your policy from the unclaimed list.
What should I do if the original owner has passed away or the ownership has changed?
Anyone with a valid legal interest in an unclaimed policy, such as heirs, executors, administrators or assignees, should get in touch with us.
What happens if I miss the 31 March deadline?
If you don’t get in touch by 31 March, the net encashment value of the policy will be transferred to the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA), which will manage the funds on behalf of the State.
Can I claim the policy value back?
Yes, absolutely.
Your rights as a policy owner are unaffected by the transfer of funds to the NTMA.
If your policy has been transferred to the NTMA, it can be reclaimed later. Just get in touch with us and follow our usual claims processes. For more information, please visit our cash requests page.
Need more help?
No problem, we’ll be glad to help. Just get in touch with us in whatever way suits you best.