The issue of life insurance policies that remain unclaimed by their beneficiaries is a global phenomenon.
For instance, in Spain, it was discovered in 2006 that approximately 10% of the 27 million life insurance policies taken out were never claimed. This led to the enactment of Law 20/2005, of November 14, on the creation of the Registry of Insurance Contracts for Death Coverage, whose Preamble acknowledges that “life insurance is sometimes taken out when contracting operations and services of all kinds, such as comprehensive vehicle insurance, mortgage loans, accident insurance, and insurance attached to travel packages and/or credit cards. However, it happens all too often that, in the event of the death of the policyholder or the insured, their potential beneficiaries, precisely because they are unaware of the existence of the insurance contract, are not in a position to claim payment, losing economic rights to which they are entitled and should, therefore, be able to receive.”