Written By: Himanshu Kumar

Himanshu Kumar

Term & Life Insurance

Himanshu is a content marketer with 2 years of experience in the life insurance sector. His motto is to make life insurance topics simple and easy to understand yet one level deeper for our readers.

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Reviewed By: Sharan Gurve

Sharan Gurve

Term & Health Insurance

Sharan Gurve has spent over 9 years in the insurance and finance industries to gather end-to-end knowledge in health and term insurance. His in-house skill development programs and interactive workshops have worked wonders in our B2C domain.

Updated on Jul 07, 2025 6 min read

Overview: Life Insurance Claim Process and Requirements

The life insurance policy offers financial security to individuals and families in case of any unfortunate events like death and disability to the life insured or the policyholder. It is suggested that individuals should avail of life insurance policies from insurers that offer a high claim settlement ratio with easy documentation processes.

In this article, we will discuss the types of life insurance claims, procedures, and the documents one has to submit for settling the life insurance claim.

Life Insurance Claim Process

Life Insurance Claims can be classified into three categories, i.e. Death Claims, Maturity Claims, and Rider Claims. Life insurance claim benefits are entertained by the nominee, in case of the untimely demise of the life assured or policyholder in case of the maturity claims. Let’s discuss all three claims in detail.

1. Death Claims

   In case of the policyholder’s demise during the policy tenure, death claims are filed by their nominees. Let’s understand the procedure of death claims.

2. Claim Intimation

   The nominee should intimate about the claim in written form to the insurance company as early as possible. The details should consist of the policy number, name of the insured, date of death, place of death, name of the claimant, etc. The nominee can avail of the claim intimation form by visiting the nearest branch of the insurance company or can download it from the official website of the insurance provider.

3. Submit Proper Documentation

   To get your claim settled easily, you must submit the relevant documents. The nominee will be asked to present given below documents to the insurer:

   • Death Certificate
   • Age of the Insured (Birth Certificate)
   • Original Policy Document
   • Any other documents requested by the insurer

4. Claim Settlement

   The insurer needs to settle the claim within 30 days of receipt of all documents submitted by the insured. However, there might be a case where an insurer requires further investigation. Under this scenario, the insurer has to complete its procedures within six months from the date of receiving the written intimation of the claim.

5. Maturity Claims

   Under this claim process, the insurance company makes payment to the policyholder on completion of the policy or maturity. The payable amount consists of the sum assured plus any applicable bonuses/incentives.

   To avail of this benefit, the insurance company reaches out policyholder in advance with a bank discharge form. The policyholder is required to fill out the form details along with the relevant documents and send it back to the bank.

6. Rider Claims

   Riders are defined as an additional benefit offered by the insurer by paying an extra premium with the basic plan. Life insurance policies can be attached with different riders such as Accidental Rider, Critical Illness Rider, Hospital Cash Rider, Waiver of Premium Rider, etc.

   Under the rider claim process, different riders are settled through various means. Rider claims such as Waiver of Premium, Accidental Death, etc. are settled following the process of death claim settlement. Other rider claims can be resolved by submitting relevant documents along with a duly filled claim form and policy copy.

Documents Required By Insurers for Claim Process

Mentioned below are some of the important documents that are generally asked by the insurance company in settling the claims:

• Duly filled in and signed claim form
• Original policy certificate
• Death certificate issued by the local authority
• FIR
• Post-mortem reports
• Hospital discharge summary
• KYC documents (like a copy of photo ID and address proof) of a beneficiary
• Copy of cancelled cheque and bank statement
• If the claim is made by someone other than the nominee or assignee, the person making a claim has to submit legal proof of his or her title

Why Submitting the Right Documents is Necessary to Settle Claims?

It is necessary to submit the right documents to the insurer at the right time so that the insurance company can smoothly process your claims on time. Providing the required documents at the time makes it easy for the insurance companies to investigate the case and take the right steps.

Common Reasons for Claim Rejection By Insurance Companies

Here are some common reasons for claim rejection by the insurance companies:

Conclusion

There are three major types of life insurance claims- death claims, maturity claims, and rider claims. The claim is either raised by the policyholder himself or their nominee depending on the type of claim. Usually, insurance companies follow a three-step claim settlement process: Claim intimation, Claim verification, and Claim settlement.

We at PolicyX.com ensure that every genuine claim received gets their due diligence. If you are planning to buy a term plan and need expert advice you can reach out to us at PolicyX.com or or call us at 1800 - 420 - 0269.