Unclaimed money for insurance agencies
Updated
At least 75 California businesses whose names mark them as insurance agencies are each owed $10,000 or more by the State Controller, $2.1 million in total. The median owner is owed $18,701 (all business-type owners: $18,087).
What these businesses are owed
| Property type | Amount | What it usually is |
|---|---|---|
| Commissions | $950k | commission payments |
| Insurance premium refunds | $358k | refunds of insurance premiums, for example after a policy was cancelled or re-rated |
| Checking accounts | $166k | balances left in checking accounts after the bank lost contact with the account holder |
| Agent credit balances | $146k | credit balances an insurer owed to an agent or agency |
| Wages and payroll | $91k | wages, payroll and salary checks |
Why it happens in this line of business
Commissions and agent credit balances from carriers can go unpaid when an agency moves, merges or changes its appointment.
71% of these owners have two or more records, so searching every former name, DBA and address matters.
Claiming it
The claim follows the standard business process: an authorized person signs the Controller's form in wet ink (notarized for $1,000+ in cash or any securities), with proof of authority, the FEIN and the reported address. We assemble and file it for 10% of what the state pays, after payment.
Industry is inferred from words in the owner's name, so these counts are a floor: many businesses in this industry have names that do not show it. Source: California State Controller unclaimed property file, records of $500 and up, dated November 4, 2026. Open records only (no claim pending or paid), owner address in California, owner = name + ZIP code, business-type names only, government names removed, owners whose records total $10,000 or more. RecoverOwed computation; classifying owners by name pattern is approximate. No individual owner is named on this site.