Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear has lost his bid to defend a state law designed to protect life insurance benefits.
The state Supreme Court on Thursday denied Beshear's motion to allow his office to continue the case after Gov. Matt Bevin's administration dropped its defense of the law.
The law requires life insurance companies to check public death records to verify if policyholders died and notify their heirs so they can start receiving benefits. Several insurers sued, saying the law could not be applied to policies written before the law passed.
A judge ruled in the state's favor, but the state Court of Appeals reversed the decision.
State lawmakers have responded with a bill to require insurers to make "good faith efforts" to track down beneficiaries, no matter when policies were written.