How do I claim the term insurance on our plan?

There is a method to be followed when filing for claims on a term insurance plan. This is how you can do it.

The loss of a loved one certainly hits the family hard. It may take years to even come to terms with the loss. However, the tragedy is compounded when the deceased person is the family’s sole breadwinner. After the demise, the family is left bereft of an income and is thrown into huge financial turmoil.

But if the deceased has had the foresight to take a term insurance plan, his family can benefit from the large sum assured corpus provided by the policy.

It is a highly traumatic time to undergo when you lose a loved one, but it is important to pull yourself together to file a claim for term plan money. There is often a time limit within which claims can be filed, and there is a certain procedure to follow. You might be left bewildered if you are made to sign realms of papers and are forced to run around to collect the insurance money. It is thus important to take term insurance from a renowned company.

If you have taken term insurance from a reputed provider like Birla Sun Life Insurance (BSLI), your claims filing procedure should proceed extremely smoothly. BSLI has made it extremely simple for claimants to complete the claims procedure, since claim applications are requested online as well as in the local branch offices. Broadly, the claims procedure for BSLI term insurance policies goes thus:

* Intimate BSLI: The insurance company must be informed about the incident of the demise of the policy holder before further process can be initiated. The company can be informed online by clicking on the relevant button, or by sending an email, or by calling the BSLI toll free number or by visiting the nearest BSLI branch office.

* Scrutiny of claim: BSLI scrutinises the claim made. The claim is verified basis the doctor’s report on cause of death of the policy holder, medical documents provided by treatment centre or hospital, FIR in case of accidental or unnatural death investigated by police, death certificate by empanelled doctor/municipal council or corporation jurisdiction, policy documents, premiums paid till claim is filed, etc. Any missing information or documents will be asked for and must be furnished within a stipulated date. BSLI will also ask the claimant to fill out the application form and provide mandatory claim documents.

* Approve or reject claim: Based on the findings of the BSLI scrutiny of documents and the policy paperwork, the company may accept or reject the claims application. If all documents are in order and the claim is genuine, the company quickly disburses the payment to the policy holder’s nominated family members. If the claim is found not genuine/has missing documentation/has lacunae in information, it is rejected and the beneficiary is informed of the reason.

Thus, BSLI completes the claims process in three easy steps. Every insurance provider must make the claims procedure as hassle-free and quick as possible. Already bereaved family members must not be made to run from pillar to post to claim what rightfully belongs to them. However, claimants must ensure that their paperwork is in order so that their term plan claim is not rejected for any reason.