The Attorney General of New York has issued subpoenas to nine life insurance companies to investigate whether the firms have sufficiently ensured payouts on the policies of deceased customers.

This is the latest of a wave of recent regulatory scrutiny measures aimed at ensuring that insurers have made adequate attempts to identify the beneficiaries of dead customers.

Subpoenas were issued to AXA SA, Genworth Financial Inc, Guardian Life Insurance Co of America, Manulife Financial Corp, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co, MetLife Inc, New York Life Insurance Co, Prudential Financial Inc, and TIAA-CREF, according to official reports.

It is unclear what legal action, if any, may be initiated if the AG's office determines that an insurer has been remiss in its duty to attempt to identify beneficiaries of deceased customers.