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An Overview of Personal Claim Filing Procedure

Submitted by admin on May 2nd, 2024

In a world full of uncertainties, a life insurance policy serves as a strong defense to save your near and dear ones from unwanted events. A life insurance policy claim is filed in the aftermath of losing a loved one and hence, the claimant undergoes a lot of emotional turmoil during the process. Therefore, a well-informed and sensitive approach is essential to ensure a smooth, efficient, and quick claim process.

This blog post is meant to guide you with a clear understanding of the claim filing process so you can easily and effectively navigate the steps.

Different Types of Claims in Life Insurance

Life insurance claims come under two categories:

• Maturity Claims
• Death Claims

Maturity claims are filed after a policy completes its pre-specified term, entitling the insured to the sum accumulated corpus.

Death claims are filed by beneficiaries/nominees upon the insured’s death, entitling them to the sum mentioned on the policy.

Death Claims Upgrade in Life Insurance

If the insured person expires before the policy completes its predetermined term, the beneficiary/nominee can file a claim for insurance benefits. Death claims are valid only if the policy has been active for three years and the policy owner has paid all premiums up to date.

What to Remember Before Filing a Claim?

There are certain things that you must do before filing a life insurance policy claim. These are:

Understanding Your Policy Details

Before filing a life insurance claim, you must have a comprehensive understanding of your life insurance policy. It’s important to review your policy details to understand inclusions, exclusions, terms, and conditions.

Policy Initiation

Visit the insurance company’s official website. Enter the key details such as the policyholder’s name, the insured person’s name, the policy number, the type of life insurance claim, and the date of the event. Next, you will be required to upload the necessary documents in support of your claim.

Document Verification

After you submit all the necessary documents, your insurance company will verify them thoroughly. They may even ask you for additional documents or information that can support your life insurance claim if it is needed for an efficient and quick processing of your claim.

Depending on the complexity involved, claim processing may take time, especially in case of unnatural death. The insurer may even send an officer for further verification.

Claim Approval

Claim settlement processing will start only after the insurance company approves your claim. The payment is directly transferred into the bank account of the beneficiary/nominee or a cheque is issued.

If the claim is not approved for any reason, the insurance company will explain in detail why they have rejected your claim.

Claim Settlement

As per the guidelines by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), an insurance company must settle or refute a claim within 30 days of receiving all the required documents. If the claim warrants further investigation, it must be done within six months.

If you initiate the claim online, you can easily check its status by entering your case and policy numbers on the insurance company’s website and clicking the ‘track status’ option.