Blaise Ingoglia says March snapped record with $92M returned in unclaimed property

A record amount of money was returned to Florida residents in March as part of the state’s Treasure Hunt program.

The service seeks to return assets and other holdings to their rightful owners. Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia says March was the second straight record-setting month for the program, with $92 million in unclaimed property sent back to residents.

This past February also set a record for that month, with $88 million in assets and unclaimed property returned.

“Another record-breaking month demonstrates how hard our office is working to return lost financial assets to Floridians,” Ingoglia said in a news release. “Florida families could have extra money just waiting for them to claim before summertime. To check out if you have unclaimed property, please visit FLTreasureHunt.gov.”

Those “unclaimed property returns mean more money back into the pockets of Floridians,” Ingoglia previously said of the February numbers.

The Treasure Hunt service has been growing in popularity in recent years. The online service allows residents to enter their name in a portal, then locate any unclaimed property listed in state records.

Unclaimed property involves assets abandoned for five years or more. That can include dormant bank accounts, unclaimed insurance proceeds, stocks, dividends, uncashed checks, deposits, credit balances and refunds.

Other tangible unclaimed assets can include items such as watches, jewelry, coins, currency, stamps, historical items and more that may be forgotten in safe deposit boxes and other storage areas.

The Tampa-St. Petersburg area, for the second month in a row, had the most cash returned to residents at $24.3 million, which is about $500,000 more than the February figure. Orlando was next with $18.6 million, followed by Miami, which had $18 million returned to residents.

Other areas with property returned include West Palm Beach ($13.02 million), Jacksonville ($5.9 million), Fort Myers ($5 million), Pensacola ($3.5 million), Tallahassee ($2.4 million), Panama City ($1.06 million) and Gainesville ($1 million).