What documents do you need to buy a term plan?

You will need the following documents to buy term insurance: 

• ID proof
  
  

• Address proof
  
  

• Age proof 
  
  

• Income proof 
  
  

• Medical proof 
  
  

• Photographs

While buying term insurance, you can show the following documents as your address proof: 

• Aadhaar
  
  

• Passport 
  
  

• Voter’s ID
  
  

• Driving licence
  
  

• CKYC identifier
  
  

• Bank statement

When applying for a term plan, you can submit any one of the following documents as an age proof: 

• Aadhaar
  
  

• Passport 
  
  

• Voter’s ID
  
  

• Driving licence
  
  

• CKYC identifier
  
  

• Birth certificate
  
  

• PAN
  
  

• School leaving certificate
  
  

• College leaving certificate

You can use any one of the following documents as an ID proof: 

• Aadhaar
  
  

• Passport 
  
  

• Voter’s ID
  
  

• Driving licence
  
  

• CKYC identifier
  
  

• PAN
  
  

• Bank passbook (not more than 6 months old) with customer photo
  
  

• Official letter from a public servant (with an attached photo)

You can submit any one of these documents as an income proof: 

• ITR (for last 2 years)
  
  

• Form 16 (for the last 2 years)
  
  

• Bank statement (last 6 months) showing salary credit
  
  

• Salary slip (last 3 months)
  
  

• FD/Mutual Fund Deposit portfolio statement
  
  

Remember, while you can submit any of these documents, you may be asked for additional documents if the total income shown is inadequate for the desired life cover. 

You can submit any one of these documents for showing as an income proof: 

• ITR (for last 3 years) along with CA certified computation of income
  
  

• Audited financial statements (for last 3 years)
  
  

• Bank statement (last 6 months) with valid credits.
  
  

• Chartered Account Certificate
  
  

• FD/Mutual Fund Deposit portfolio statement
  
  

Remember, while you can submit any of these documents, you may be asked for additional documents if the total income shown is inadequate for the desired life cover.

These are the medical proofs you will need for buying a term insurance: 

• Medical tests (in-person and/or on tele/video call)
  
  

• Past medical records (depending on your application form/your medical test results)

Yes, you need to submit passport-sized photographs.

Alternatively, you can also submit photos taken by an insurance agent on a mobile phone at the time of sale.

Typically after you successfully submit your application and all the necessary documents, it will take around 15 days for your term insurer to respond but the final time will depend on a lot of factors. Find out more about how long it takes to get term insurance.

The following factors can lead to the rejection of your term plan application, even if you are eligible to get one: 
 

• Specific health issues
  
  

• Age
  
  

• Hazardous occupation
  
  

• Dangerous hobbies
  
  

• Poor lifestyle choices
  
  

• Income limitations
  
  

• Past criminal record 
  
  

• Previous application declines
  
  

• Falsifying information
  
  

• History of declined applications

Typically in such a case, you need to inform your insurer. The insurer may raise a further requirement and tell you to submit the document that you want to be considered as correct data and declare that the document contains the correct data. 

Your insurer may request certain documents as part of the application process, which you may:

• not have with you
  
  

• not want to share with the insurer
  
  

In such cases, you can ask the insurer for any alternative documents that may work for them and submit those documents. If the insurer refuses to accept any other alternative document, then they may reject your application on the grounds of inadequate documentation.

Don’t worry, if you don’t have your CKYC number you can still provide your KYC documents for buying term insurance. 

You’ll also be asked to submit your medical proofs, which are:

• Medical tests (in-person and/or on tele/video call)
  
  

• Past medical records (depending on your application form/your medical test results)
  
  

photographs: 

• latest passport-size photos 
  
  

• Photos taken on a mobile phone at the time of sale
  
  

as well as age proof 

Do note that apart from these additional documents, your insurer may ask you to submit more documents, especially if they want to probe your application further. The documents that they could ask for will depend on a case-to-case basis.

No, you need to provide all the necessary documents for submitting your term policy application. The insurer can reject your term insurance application if you do not submit the requested documents. 

First, you need to inform your insurer about the issue. Post which, the insurer may create a further requirement and ask you to submit the documents with the correct information (i.e. the information that you want to reflect in your term policy application form).

After you submit the correct documents and declare that the submitted documents include the correct information, the insurer will make the changes to your application form.