What to do if your term insurance claim is being delayed/denied?

Delay or rejection of a term insurance claim can create a lot of financial trouble for a family who are already grieving the loss of a loved one (the life assured, in this case).

 

If you have filed a death claim on a term insurance plan but your claim is being delayed or denied, follow these steps to tackle the problem:

 

●     Firstly, know the rules and regulations well. Every insurer is mandated by IRDAI to have a system for policyholder services specifying the:

 

○     Service turnaround time

○     Claim review committee

○     Grievance redressal mechanism

 

●     Here’s an important piece of information that you must have - After you have filed a claim, the insurer should accept/reject it in

 

○     2 weeks if there’s no further investigation required

○     120 days in case of any investigation

 

●     Depending on your exact problem, you can do one of the following:

 

○     In case of a claim delay: Write to the grievance redressal officer of the branch servicing your policy

○     In case of a claim rejection: Approach the Claim Review Committee of the life insurance company

 

●     Share all your claim details with them, either physically or electronically. Don't forget to get an acknowledgement from them for receiving your details. Pro tip: You can also complain if you have received a response from your insurer and are unhappy with it.

          

●     If you are unhappy with the matter resolution, approach an Insurance Ombudsman. They can entertain a complaint up to Rs 20 lacs.

●     If your problem is still not solved, escalate the issue to IRDAI by sharing all the details at www.igms.irda.gov.in. Your complaint should be resolved in two weeks.

●     As a last resort, you can go to the consumer forum.

 

Keep your fingers crossed and hope to get your claim payout soon. And in the meantime, brush up on the reasons for term insurance claim rejection by your life insurance company.