Forgotten bank deposit, insurance policy or shares? Govt launches portal to help you trace unclaimed assets

If you have ever lost track of an old bank account, fixed deposit, insurance policy, mutual fund investment or shareholding, a new government-backed portal may help you locate it.

The Finance Ministry on Friday launched a common online platform that allows citizens to search for unclaimed financial assets across multiple categories, including bank deposits, insurance claims, shares, dividends and mutual funds.

The initiative builds on the government's "Your Money, Your Right" campaign, which aims to improve awareness about unclaimed financial assets and help people reconnect with money that rightfully belongs to them.

Launching the portal, Department of Financial Services Secretary M Nagaraju said the platform would improve citizen convenience by bringing together multiple search facilities under one roof and support ongoing efforts to reunite individuals with their financial assets.

The ministry said the portal is expected to improve public awareness, ease access to information and strengthen trust in the financial system by simplifying the process of tracing unclaimed assets.

What can you search for?

• Unclaimed bank deposits

• Insurance claims

• Shares

• Dividends

• Mutual funds

Financial assets often become unclaimed when account holders change addresses, fail to update contact details, forget older investments, or when nominees and family members are unaware of investments made by deceased relatives.

The government believes a single access point can make it easier for people to identify such assets and begin the process of claiming them from the relevant institution.