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Florida made national news when it required life insurers to look back 25 years and pay beneficiaries that have not come forward, but as Mike Vasilinda tells us, four companies have filed a legal challenge to the legislation.

Authors of the legislation say Insurance companies regularly check the national death master file but when some companies run across a customer who has died, they don’t seek out the beneficiary of the life insurance policy. Lawmakers say millions are being withheld.

Rep. Mike Miller (R-Orlando) put the figure at “One hundred eleven million dollars”.

The legislation passed both chambers without a single no vote. CFO Jeff Atwater was featured on national news magazines.

“Literally, the consumers won in this legislative session.”

But now four companies under the banner of Kemper Home Services are challenging the law.

Their website lists a half dozen offices for the company in Florida. One of them is in this strip mall. We went to their Tallahassee office just a stones throw from the capitol.

“can you tell me who your customers are?” we asked.

We were told to contact the home office.

High Profile Attorney Barry Richard says the state can’t force the companies to go back 25 years and look for beneficiaries. He also argues  policies approved by the state don’t require the companies to pay until someone provides proof of death.

“The insurance companies  are not objecting to the law going forward. they are objecting to the retroactive  provision on the basis of the fact that it violates the constitutional right not to have the government impair contracts as they exist.”

But the state will argue that it’s hard for a beneficiary to come forward when they never knew the policy existed.”

Barry Richard also told us that making the companies find beneficiaries could result in higher rates since they earn interest on the unclaimed funds that help cover overhead.