4 ways to claim your term plan

All over India, more and more people are increasingly investing in term insurance plans. Term plans are extremely affordable insurance instruments, which also accord high sum assured on the fruition of the policy. Term insurance helps the deceased’s family stay afloat despite the trauma of losing a loved one.

However, it is important to claim the term insurance money in the correct way. The MetLife term insurance plans have a very simple claim settlement process. Do follow these steps to ensure a speedy settlement of your claim:

1. File through the right channels.

PNB MetLife allows multiple channels for claim settlement. Customers can file a claim through the company’s financial advisor or sales manager. Or he or she can directly file it at the company’s nearest branch office. The company also has a Claims Department at its Head office in Mumbai. Alternatively, there is the option of filing through a partner bank which coordinates the procedure with the company. One more option is to file through the Regional Service Team. It is important to keep all updated contact numbers with you at all times.

2. Mode of intimation.

The customer can intimate PNB MetLife through letter, email or fax. The beneficiary should avoid making claims intimation over the phone. A written communication with a date, subject matter, relevant policy details and your contact details is ideal.

3. Documents requirement.

In case of term insurance plans, the claims fall under the ‘death claims’ and ‘accidental death claim’ categories. You must be very careful to prepare a documents docket to submit to the company with your claims application. The documents required are: Original or notarised death certificate, claimant’s signed statement, attending physician/certifying doctor’s statement, family physician statement, test reports and hospital reports (in case of death due to illness), photo ID and residential address proof of the nominee listed in the policy, attested copy of police FIR in case of unnatural death) and attested copy of post mortem report (in case of unnatural death).

Any other documents such as cremation/burial certificate and newspaper-announced (obituaries and news coverage) items may be called for in case of extraordinary circumstances.

4. Knowing the company policy on claims.

PNB MetLife settles term insurance plans claims within 15 days of receiving the complete and correct set of documents and claim application form. Once these documents are received, there is a scrutiny process to check all the documents and furnished information. The insurance money is then computed. Claims may take longer to settle in case the documents are incomplete or the information is found to be incorrect or misleading.