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MONY /
Mutual of New York - Missing Policy Search
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Mutual of New York / MONY Unclaimed Life Insurance and Demutualization Compensation |
Mutual of New York - MONYOn November 16, 1998, The Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York successfully completed its conversion from a mutual life insurance company to a shareholder-owned company, The MONY Group Inc. On July 8, 2004, MONY Group became a wholly owned subsidiary of AXA Financial. In 1999, AXA acquired the Equitable Companies, the corporate entity resulting from the 1992 demutualization of the Equitable Life Assurance Society. All issued and outstanding shares of The MONY Group, including those issued in connection with the demutualization, were cancelled in exchange for the right to receive the merger consideration of $31.00 in cash plus a final dividend of $0.34755 in cash. Demutualization is the process of converting a mutual life insurance company, owned by its policyholders, to a publicly traded stock company owned by shareholders, pursuant to a plan of conversion approved by government regulators. The amount paid to each policyholder is based on a number of factors, including length of time the policy has been in force, face value of the policy, and total premiums paid. For many policyholders, the windfall arising from demutualization can be substantial, but millions of missing policyholders and heirs aren't aware they are entitled to receive compensation. Eligible policyholders were entitled to receive 34 million shares of stock and $37 million in cash and policy credits, represented by a fixed component of 7 MONY Group Inc. common shares, and a variable component based on policy value. Cash compensation was $23.50 per share entitlement. In the first year after the initial public offering price, the price of a MONY Group common share increased 27%.
Between one-quarter and one-half of all life insurance policies go unclaimed, because it is generally up to family members to notify the insurance company when a policyholder dies, and virtually no effort is made to find lost beneficiaries. In addition, millions of missing policyholders and heirs aren't aware they are entitled to receive this demutualization compensation. Contact efforts were unsuccessful, due to name changes after marriage or divorce, unreported changes of address , expired postal forwarding orders and non-current beneficiary information. By law, unclaimed policy benefits, including demutualization compensation, are remitted to the custody of a government trust account until claimants come forward. Last year government custodians collected $22.8 billion, of which less than $1 billion was claimed. It is highly recommended that current and former policyholders and heirs - the majority of whom are unaware they're entitled to unclaimed policy benefits, stock & cash - initiate an Unclaimed Life Insurance Policy Search |
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