Question: I have a life insurance policy with Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Co. from 1981. I can’t find this company in the phone book. How do I find out whether this insurance company still exists and how I can contact it?
Answer: Once a titan of the U.S. insurance industry, Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Co. failed nearly three decades ago. Most policies in force at the time were automatically transferred to other companies, which would have issued their own documentation to policyholders. Because you don’t have any follow-up paperwork confirming that premiums were paid over the years, it seems unlikely that the policy was kept up. However, you can check by calling 800-821-7887. This is the contact number for information about individual life insurance policies originally issued by Mutual Benefit and ultimately transferred to American General Life Insurance Co.
We found this information on the website of New Jersey’s Department of Banking and Insurance, which supervised Mutual Benefit’s rehabilitation/liquidation. We confirmed that the phone number is current. Call and provide your policy number to determine whether the policy was in force when Mutual Benefit policies were transferred there.
According to the New Jersey agency, there are several reasons it might not have been: The policy could have lapsed, been surrendered for value or had proceeds previously distributed or transferred. “If any of these listed events occurred, the policy has terminated and there are no available records which will provide additional information,” according to the department.
Before its demise, Mutual Benefit, based in New Jersey, was licensed to operate in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, offering life, health and annuity products for the individual, group and business markets, according to the National Organization of Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Associations.
The company failed due to poor real estate investments and a run on assets by policyholders, according to news reports at the time. It was placed in rehabilitation under the supervision of the New Jersey department on July 16, 1991. In-force policies were transferred to other insurers at various applicable transaction dates. Mutual Benefit was ultimately liquidated and dissolved about a decade later, according to the department’s website.
Which insurer assumed control varied by policy type; we’ve listed the contact for individual life insurance because that’s the type you mentioned in your call to Kokua Line.
Q: Did they ever say how many of the people killed in Manchester were girls?
A: Yes. Seventeen of the 22 victims were female, including seven under age 18, according to the BBC. The youngest victim, a girl, was 8. The five male victims were adults. Dozens more people were injured when a suicide bomber struck outside Manchester Arena in England following an Ariana Grande concert May 22. The terrorist also died, for a death toll, as of Friday, of 23.
Mahalo
On May 12 my son Ron, in his haste to get to his graduation ceremony at Kawaiaha‘o Church, lost his wallet. After our celebratory dinner he went back to where he had parked his truck but found nothing. A week later he received a letter from the Honolulu Police Department explaining that someone had turned in his wallet. When he went to pick it up, everything was intact. The good Samaritan had not left a name. Our family is so grateful to this honest and caring person. May the Lord bless you and your family abundantly. — Mahalo, Rachel
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
