How to file a life insurance death claim: steps and documents

Tell the insurer about the death as early as you can — online, at a branch, through the agent or the call centre — then send the claim form with the documents the insurer lists; IRDAI's example list includes a death certificate, and the FIR and post-mortem report where the death was due to an accident. A missing document or late intimation is not by itself a ground to reject the claim. Under IRDAI's 2024 master circular, a claim that needs no investigation should be settled within 15 days of intimation, and one that needs investigation within 45 days.

A death claim is paperwork done at a hard time. The order below keeps it simple: tell the insurer first, then gather what the policy asks for, and keep a copy of everything you send. You do not need every paper in hand before you inform the insurer.

Step by step

1. 1

   Intimate the claim.

   IRDAI's circular asks the claimant to tell the insurer at the earliest possible time, in person or online, through the agent or bank that sold the policy, or the insurer's call centre. Note the date and any claim or reference number. Late intimation alone is not a reason the insurer can use to reject or close the claim.^[1]

2. 2

   Find the insurer's own list.

   Life insurers must state the documents needed for a claim in the policy document and show them on their websites. Insurers must also ask for all the documents they need at one go, not piece by piece.^{[1, 2]}

3. 3

   Collect the documents.

   Start with the items in the table below that apply to your situation, and add anything the insurer's own list asks for.

4. 4

   Check for an assignment or a loan.

   If the policy was assigned, for example to a bank for a loan, IRDAI advises the nominee to check that the assignment is valid, agree that only the outstanding loan is paid to the lender, and make sure any balance is paid into the nominee's own bank account.^[1]

5. 5

   Submit, and keep proof.

   Send copies by a route that gives you a dated acknowledgement, and keep originals unless the insurer's list asks for them. Whether to send originals has more on this.

6. 6

   Track the clock.

   The 15 days, or 45 days where the claim needs investigation, run from the date of intimation. If the insurer is late, interest at the bank rate plus 2% is due from the date it received the intimation, and it should pay that without being asked.^[1]

If the policy was still new

Expect more questions. Within three years of the latest of the policy's issue, risk-start, revival or rider date, the policy can still be contested, and LIC, for example, asks claimants in that situation to contact the servicing branch for additional requirements. A claim that needs investigation has the longer 45-day timeline, still counted from intimation. Why early claims are investigated explains what that stage involves.^{[1, 3]}

Common mistakes

• Waiting until every document is ready before telling the insurer. Intimate first; IRDAI's circular says a claim cannot be rejected or closed for delayed intimation.^[1]
• Sending the only original of a document without keeping a copy for yourself.
• Treating the claim form as a formality. Fill it in carefully and keep a copy; if the claim is questioned later, what was written in it will matter.
• Handing papers over at a branch without asking for a dated acknowledgement.

ClaimAssure is an independent private platform. It is not an insurer, IRDAI, Bima Bharosa or the Insurance Ombudsman, it never files anything on your behalf, and it cannot promise any outcome. What it does is read your documents and show you what they say.

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