Top reasons for claim rejections in term insurance policies

LIC with highest #claim settlement ratio above 95%, smaller private players faired at about 76-80% only. As the premium for #term plans of private insurance players for #term plans are much lower, so is their #claim-settlement-ratio. The insurance companies blame it on the #policy holders.

Have you ever bought an ice-cream without checking the flavour?

Have you ever done a haircut without a mirror in front of you, giving the scissor and your head to your hairdresser without discussing which look you want and took a beauty sleep when you were getting a new look?

Do you ask your vegetable vendor to chose vegetable for you or you chose yourself?

Do you simply walk-in at a 5star restaurant and order a meal without looking at the menu?

If most of the answers are in negative, I would like to know, do you look into the documents and terms and conditions while buying an insurance policy? If you are nodding your head in affirmation, it is a much bigger concern compared to any of the topics discussed above.

There are about 10% of all death claims in term plans get rejected mostly because of callous attitude of the policyholders, putting the near ones in a bigger mess after death. While choosing right amount, right insurance company with high-claim settlement ratio is important, it is equally important to go through the documentation and complete the necessary processes to obtain the insurance contract papers.
Top 5  reasons for rejection of #death claims

1. Dependence on insurance agent – The insurance agent gets a commission when he sells a policy, for him it is just another deal. He may be your best friend’s brother, but still may not be well aware of minute details which needs to be filled in the form, a small human error in date of birth/profession/annual income/source of income can cost your family members thee policy amount additional to the emotional trauma of life loss

2. Hiding personal details – Nobody is a fool here, certainly not the insurance claim settlement officers. So if one hide about nature of profession (with life risk) like in mining/fire-fighting will take no-time to decline claim incase of accidental death at work. Many a times to hide a small additional premium policyholder hide their lifestyle habit of smoking/drinking, it will cost

3. Not utilising the free-look period –there are many fine prints of inclusions and exclusions in a insurance policy document. To enable policy holders to take informed decision, the insurance policies have a feature of free-look period of 15-30 days, within which policyholder can  cancel his policy citing dissatisfaction and opt for any other policy. Policyholder is reimbursed the premium after deduction of minimum processing and medical test charges incurred by the company. This is the best way to be sure of what are you buying as a guarantee for your loved ones after your death.

4. Improper nomination – Life insurance Policy is a very long term investment. Many a times policies are bought by unmarried individuals, they nominate their parents as nominee, as time passes by, gradually nomination needs to reviewed after marriage or death of parents, so that settling claim doesn’t suffer due to ignorance in documentation work.

5. Policy lapse – Keeping your policy alive is solely your responsibility. Pay your premium timely. Generally, insurance companies have a grave period of 15-30 days after the air date, failing which, your policy is considered to be lapsed, and no chance of #claim settlement

6. Suicide/missing person case – This area has little less to do with the adhering to policy rules, but one must not now out noticing this part of the agreement. Incase of suicide within first two years of policy, many insurance company can simply reject the claim. Missing person claim is one more painful thing to handle for the family members. Often in calamities or terrorist attacks, many deceased persons cannot even recognised or the deadbody is simply buried beyond recovery, in this cases, insurance companies follow the list shared by government. If the policyholder’s name doesn’t reflect in the list, insurance companies will follow 7 year rule. Under this rule one cannot claim settlement untill 7 years and within these years, the family members have to keep the policy alive by paying regular premiums.

The point here is about taking informed decision and doing a  periodic review of the insurance policy to avoid inconvenience in future. Stay happy. Stay alert.

#term insurance #claim settlement #insurance policy #life insurance

http://www.mymoneystreets.com/2016/11/10-reasons-why-we-are-obsessed-about.html?m=1

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