How to Make Death & Maturity Claims on Your Life Insurance in India | ABSLI (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between a death claim and a maturity claim? ›

Death benefit can only be claimed if the insured person passes away, while maturity benefit can only be claimed if the policyholder is still alive at the end of the term.

Formalities for a maturity claim

The policyholder has to sign the discharge voucher – which is like a receipt – have his signature witnessed and send it back to the insurance company along with the original policy bond to enable it to make the payment.

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.

To claim life insurance benefits, the beneficiary should contact the insurance company's local agent or check the company's website. Some companies ask beneficiaries to start by sending in a form that merely reports the death; they then send the beneficiary a packet of forms and instructions explaining how to proceed.

Death and Maturity Claims in Life Insurance

A death claim in life insurance is a request for payment by the beneficiaries when the policyholder passes away. On the other hand, a maturity claim is a request by the policyholder for payment upon the policy's term completion.

Once the policy nears the maturity date, the insurance company typically intimates the policyholder to submit the necessary documents to be able to process the maturity claim.

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) mandates insurance companies to settle death claims within 30 days. The guideline applies to all cases where no investigation into the death is required. If there is an investigation, the timeline extends to a maximum of 120 days.

There's no deadline for filing a life insurance death benefit claim — that's good news if you're concerned about how long after death you have to collect life insurance.

Insurance policy papers: The original terms of the insurance policy affect the payout sum, and therefore these papers are required. Medical certificate: This may or may not be required, depending on the requirements of your insurance company. Postmortem report: This is required in case of an unnatural death.

The taxation on life insurance payout will be exempted in case of the death of the life assured. If you already have a life insurance plan with premiums exceeding Rs. 5 Lacs in a year, then you need not worry, as the new tax law is only applicable to policies purchased on or after April 1, 2023.

What documents are required for death claim settlement? ›

Now, what? Many life insurance companies try to contact beneficiaries if the beneficiaries don't contact them first.

Life insurance companies typically do not know when a policyholder dies until they are informed of his or her death, usually by the policy's beneficiary. Even if a policy is in a premium-paying stage and the payments stop, the insurance company has no reason to assume that the insured has died.

Depending on the insurer, a life insurance payout can typically be distributed in three ways: in the form of a lump sum, via a life insurance annuity, or through a retained asset account. Check with the insurer to see which life insurance payout options they offer.

The death benefit is an amount that the insurance company provides to the nominee on the unforeseen demise of the life assured on the other hand the maturity benefit amount is an amount that the insurance company has to pay to the policyholder in the of their life insurance policy being matured.

Maturity Claims

The claim for which a policyholder/life insured can apply for after surviving the complete policy term is called maturity claim.

Matured versus unmatured: Maturation of a claim refers to whether a specified payment date for the claim has been reached. Matured claims are past their payment dates, and unmatured claims are not at their payment dates.

Death Claim is a formal request made by the nominee* in a life insurance policy to the life insurance company. This request is made for the payment** of the Life Cover amount in case of the unfortunate event of death of the Life Assured*.