What do I do if I need to make a claim?

Should there be a death in the family, and you have life insurance, you should be provided with cash immediately to meet your pressing needs. However, you can't get hold of that cash without filing a claim. With the amount of money involved, you need to follow certain guidelines to make sure your claim is filed properly.

Firstly, you should call the agent or broker that helped you apply for the insurance policy in the first place. The life insurance agent can help you with the details of how to fill out your claims form, but you should help yourself by making sure you have your policy paperwork on hand. The agent should also act as an intermediary with the insurance company to help move the claim along.

If you have the paperwork to hand, but you do not know who the deceased's agent was, you should deal with the life insurance company directly. This is as simple as calling or writing to their nearest office to you and asking what procedure should be followed. Make sure you follow that procedure to the letter though to expedite your claim. One of the things you may have to do is to secure some certified copies of the death certificate from the funeral director. You'll need a certificate for each life insurance claim. You should submit the death certificate along with your claim form and the policy itself, or at least its number.

Should you have no information at all relating to the claim, don't know the name of the company, and don't know who the deceased's agent is, you can still write to the Missing policy service, including a self-addressed business size envelope. This inquiry would be passed to about 100 of the largest life insurance companies to try and locate your lost policy. You will be charged a nominal fee for this service to cover administration costs.

You should receive a settlement in fairly short order once you have submitted the claim. This could be in many forms, depending on your choice or that of the original policyholder.

The lump sum, allowing you to use it for whatever you need, such as funeral expenses, any debts, or your own living costs. Then there is the interest income option, where the life insurance company pays interest on the proceeds whilst still holding them for a specified period, or until the funds are finished. Maybe you would prefer the life income option, which is similar to an annuity, in which you are guaranteed an income for life, with the amount of income depending on the size of the death benefit and your age and gender when the insured has died.

You should go to a financial advisor to make sure you are selecting the best option.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

© AskFinancially.com 2008

Life Insurance

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