Are you owed money by your bank?

Banks, pension companies and insurers owe Brits an incredible £15 billion, which we need to reclaim before it's too late. The figures were revealed in a study that found £5 million was in dormant bank accounts, £3 billion in unclaimed pensions, £1 billion in missing life insurance policies, and £8.5 million in unclaimed lottery prizes.

Life insurer Beagle Street added that there was anther £3 billion in National Savings & Investments accounts, £3 billion in unfulfilled shares and dividends, and £50 million in unclaimed Premium Bonds.

It seems incredible that so much money could be left neglected, but over the years it's easy to see how people can lose paperwork, move house and fail to update their address, and simply forget about savings, pensions and investments that they've had nothing to do with for years.

Beagle Street has opted for the bizarre solution of turning its policies into art (pictured), so that people hang them on the wall and never forget them.
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Perhaps a more traditional solution is to keep a file at home for all these documents, and make a date to go through the file once a year in order to remind yourself of everything you have. This won't just help you keep track of things, it will also give you a chance to consider whether you have the best insurance policies, investments and bank accounts for your needs.

What can you do?

If you have lost track of money, the good news is that some of it can be reclaimed. The best way to track down an account is through My Lost Account, which is organised by the British Bankers' Association, the Building Societies Association and NS&I, and will check your accounts with all the relevant providers - including Premium Bonds.

If you are trying to track down a pension, the Pension Tracing Service is a good place to start, as it has details of 200,000 pension schemes. If it's a company pension scheme and your former employer is still in business, then the trustees of the scheme should be able to help.

For investments, you can ask the Investment Association for help tracing a unit trust (020 7831 0898) or the Association of Investment Companies for help finding an investment trust (020 7282 5555).

If you are having difficulties and are happy paying for help, you can pay Experian £25 and they'll search their Unclaimed Assets Register - which holds details of 4.5 million assets.

The worrying news is while you can reclaim some of this cash, much of it may already be lost forever. If, for example, you leave money in a bank account untouched for 15 years, the government will decide that it is officially 'dormant' and it can therefore help itself to your money. Likewise if you wait more than 180 days to claim a lottery prize, it will go to the Lottery's Good Causes.

It means that it's worth thinking about this sooner rather than later.