The effect of life insurance on death based on natural calamities
There are thousands of families shattered by the continuous effect of the ongoing pandemic. For many, it is the intolerable loss of their dear ones in the recent cyclone and the unbearable financial loss they had to hold by their shoulders. The life insurance policies have come into play as the saviours to provide relief to the families who lost the breadwinner of the family. However, rarely people are aware of the legal procedures for filing a life insurance claim after the insured’s death. FE Online spoke with various insurance industry professionals to gather more information about this. 
According to Sachin Dutta, Chief Operating Officer, Canara, HSBC, Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance, it has been extremely challenging due to the pandemic as well as the numerous catastrophes that have struck our country in the current year and the previous year. Dutta explains that insurances operate on the premise of creating brand loyalty and settling legitimate claims quickly to provide appropriate support to all those claimants/nominees/beneficiaries in the tragic event of death. In the aftermath of cyclones, the company has instituted a very simplified claim settlement procedure and established a Special Claims Helpdesk to accelerate the claim settlement process. In addition to that, he also stated that being a simplified settlement procedure it ensures the claim requires documents to be verified for a speedy resolution.
Here are some of the documents to be kept handy for this :
- Death certificate- issued by Municipal Authorities or Designated District Officials of the State Government
- State/Central Government confirming death due to cyclone Claim Intimation Form which is available in the company’s website
- Photo ID Proof of the nominee
According to Dutta, the whole Simplified Process of Claim Settlement is publicly published on the Company’s website for claimants’ convenience. Casparus Kromhout, MD & CEO of Shriram Life Insurance, provided the following advice on how to claim life insurance after a disaster which includes:
- Call the agent and inform through the toll-free or customer care services
- Apply for a death certificate at the earliest
- Try to get all medical documents indicating the cause of the death
And for the death claims here are a few tips to be followed:
- Questions and claim forms completed
- A copy of the death certificate issued by the local competent authority
- Bank details of the Nominee
- Medical documents stating the cause of death
The dedicated wing of the PNB Metlife is ready to extend their help for a simplified claim procedure and also can approach their website claimshelpdesk@pnbmetlife.com. They have streamlined the procedure by reducing the amount of paperwork necessary and the claimants can simply fill out a claim form with basic details about the deceased.
