Documents Required for Death Claim: All You Need to Know

Nowadays, it is very convenient to get life insurance policies. However, the numbers are still low when you consider the purchase of life insurance policies overall. According to the economic survey, only 3 in 100 people have some form of life insurance in India. Part of this is attributable to the lack of knowledge of the life insurance benefits, and the other is due to misconceptions about the death claim process being hard and time-consuming. 
 

However, over the last decade, making death insurance claims or claiming life insurance has become easier due to the shift towards digital mediums. Earlier, it took effort and time to carry out the claim process offline, but now you can even get an insurance policy online and make a death insurance claim online. What remains common are the documents required to make a life insurance claim. 
 

Read on to know the insurance claim documents and how to carry out the death claim process online.
 

What are the Documents Required for a Death Claim?
 

The documents required for a death claim vary from insurer to insurer. They majorly depend upon the cause of death. The death insurance claim procedure varies for natural deaths, accidental deaths, and death due to natural/ unforeseen calamities, among other scenarios. However, here is a general idea of what documents you will need:
 

• Death claim form
   

  The first document you need is the insurance company’s death claim form duly filled out by the nominee or beneficiary. If you are the buyer of the insurance policy, your chosen family members (nominees/ beneficiaries) will have to fill out the form and complete the death insurance claim process.
   

• Death certificate
   

  You need to submit a death certificate that contains all the relevant details regarding the policyholder’s death, including the time, place, cause, and date. The death certificate should be from a registered government authority like the municipal corporation or a registrar.
   

• Identify proof of the claimant
   

  When you are claiming as a beneficiary, the insurance provider might ask for relevant identity proof to verify your identity. You will have to submit either or all of these – passport, PAN card, voter ID card, driving license, Aadhar card, employment letter, photos, and other ID requested by the insurer.
   

• Address proof of the claimant
   

  As part of the death claim process, you might also have to submit the necessary proof of your residence. These include documents like your Aadhar card, passport, or any of the utility bills carrying the address of the beneficiary.
   

• Medical records
   

  If the cause of death was an illness that required hospitalisation, the insurer might ask you for medical records that prove the insured was under hospitalisation. These include documents like pathological test reports, diagnosis report, indoor case papers, discharge papers,  death summary(only if death was in the hospital), and others, as requested by the insurer.
   

• Cause of death certificate
   

  In cases of death at home, cause of death certificate from the last attending physician is required.
   

  In case of death due to accident or unnatural deathpost-mortem or autopsy report is needed to get clarity on the cause of the demise. In some cases, they might need the first information report (FIR) and charge sheet for further assessment.
   

• Proof of legal title
   

  In the scenario, there is no appointed beneficiary; or the beneficiary itself has passed, and there is no existing one, the person making the death claim has to procure a legal title or legal succession certificate.
   

• Life insurance policy details
   

  Last but not least - the insurer will ask to see the life insurance policy details to confirm the sum assured amount under the insurance policy and verify other terms and conditions.
  
  

   

What is the Death Claim Process?
 

The death claim process varies from insurer to insurer, but over the years, it has been simplified to make the entire claim process a hassle-free experience for the nominee/ claimant. Most death claim procedures are now online, so the entire affair takes a few minutes. Here is a summary of the death claim process at the TATA AIA Life Insurance company but the process is similar to most insurance companies. All you have to do is:
 

1. Visit your insurance company’s website and click on register claim.  

2. You can register the claim through WhatsApp, email, or call the insurer’s helpline numbers.

3. You can also send it via post/ offline mail if you are in a place with little to or no internet connectivity.

4. Upload the documents requested (or mentioned above) to initiate verification.

5. Wait for a few days or hours to receive a confirmation/ response of your insurance claim status.

6. Once the insurance claim gets approved, the claim amount will get disbursed to your account.
    

    

To Conclude
 

More and more people have realised the importance of life insurance and are considering it a necessity instead of an added luxury. When it comes to life insurance policies, more than 55% of shares are held by investors in the capital market. In fact, the high claim settlement ratio of around 97% in India shows that insurance companies are prompt in settling and approving insurance claims. The claim settlement ratio1 of Tata AIA – which is 99.01% for FY 2022-23 – is enough to bust myths about death claims getting rejected for no reason.
 

L&C/Advt/2023/Aug/2605