Life Insurance

IFE INSURANCE SERVICES – DEATH CLAIM

“Death ends a life, not a relationship.”? – Mitch Albom.
Death does not put an end to the relationships. That’s why people mourn the death of their loved ones’ years. But one fact that everyone must remember is that death is unavoidable and life is unpredictable. And the truth about death is that it affects one’s family – both financially and emotionally.

WHAT IS LIFE INSURANCE?

Life insurance is a contract between an insurance company and an individual where the latter agrees to pay premium to the former to ensure the death benefit is to be paid to the latter’s nominees after their death. Broadly, life insurance claims are segmented into two different categories – death claims and maturity claims.

DEATH CLAIM

In the event of the death of the policy holder during the term of the policy, the beneficiary can claim the proceeds of the death benefit. This claim is called the life insurance claim or more popularly death claim. How to Make a Death Claim?

  1. First step is to inform the life insurance company about the death of the policy holder. Deaths are classified into two categories by insurance companies – ‘early death’ and ‘non-early death’. If the policy holder dies within three years of buying the policy, then it is considered an early death.
  2. Get the claim intimation form from insurance company.
  3. Enquire about necessary documents to process the claim. If the life insurance policy has been purchased online, apply online for the form.

DOCUMENT CHECKLIST

Usually the following documents are needed to process a death claim:

  • Death certificate
  • Original policy documents
  • ID proof of the beneficiary
  • Age proof of Insured if not provided earlier
  • Discharge form (executed and witnessed)
  • Medical certificate (as proof for cause of death)
  • Police FIR (in case of unnatural death)
  • Postmortem report (in case of unnatural death)
  • Hospital records/certificate (if the deceased died due to an illness)
  • Cremation certificate and employer certificate (in case of early death)

To make a death claim do not wait too long after the death of the policy holder. Make sure of having all the aforementioned documents. Get in touch with your life insurance company and ask them for an updated checklist of documents required to make death claim.