Know the brass tacks

Font Size

Print

Feedback

Email

Discuss

: Knowing how to make the claim on a life insurance policy can save the bereaved family a lot of hassle at a time of
The Sharmas might not have had to make constant rounds of life insurance companies’ offices to get the claim amount after Mohan Chand Sharma laid down his life during an encounter at Batla House in Jamia Nagar, Delhi, in September this year. Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) proactively sent the cheque for the sum assured on his insurance policy to the martyred police officer’s house even before the bereaved family had approached the life insurance company. This gesture by the life insurance company was their way of paying homage to the martyr. But such agility is usually not evident in normal cases.

The claim process, however simple it may appear at first glance, can cause a lot of anguish if the family is not aware of the procedures or does not possess the information required for making the claim.
As Poonam Bhardwaj, senior vice president and head-underwriting and claims, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance says: “Claim settlement is one of the most important services that an insurance company can provide to its customers. And claims go a long way towards alleviating the affected family’s financial burdens.”

All-important details
While you might have bought a number of insurance policies to take care of your loved ones in case something happens to you, all these efforts might be futile if the latter aren’t aware of what steps to take for making the claim. “One of the biggest problems that arise in getting a claim furnished is that the person who bought the policy is not alive. Normally, the claimants are not well versed with the procedure,” says G. Muralidhar, chief operating officer, Kotak Life Insurance.

Keep the nominee informed. Every time you buy a policy you have to name a nominee. While everybody fills that section, not many people inform the nominee (one, that they have bought the policy from a particular insurance, and two, that they have named that person as the nominee). The nominees should be aware of the number of policies you have bought. “All claim forms generally have a section that asks for details of other polices a person might have. It is very important that the nominee be aware of the details of all the policies,” says P. Nandagopal, chief executive officer, Reliance Life Insurance.