General information — not legal advice. Procedures differ between institutions and change without notice. Always confirm the current requirements with the bank, insurer or registrar before travelling to a branch or office.
Last reviewed: 23 August 2026 · Report an error on this page
Life insurance is the one claim where the money is meant to arrive quickly, and where the rules are firmly on the family's side. It is also the claim where being the nominee means the most.
Everywhere else, a nominee is broadly a custodian who receives an asset on behalf of the legal heirs. Life insurance is the exception: where the policyholder nominated a parent, spouse or child, that nominee is *beneficially* entitled to the money under section 39(7) of the Insurance Act. It is theirs, not merely released to them.
Start by intimating the insurer. You do not need every document to do that, and delaying the intimation while you gather papers is the most common self-inflicted delay.
Intimate the insurer straight away
As soon as you can
A claim intimation can be given by the nominee or assignee, by any close relative, or by the agent who handled the policy. It needs only the date, place and cause of death, and the policy number.
The insurer then writes back telling you exactly which documents it wants, and sends its claim form. Waiting until you have everything before making contact simply moves the clock later.
If you cannot find the policy document, intimate anyway with whatever identifiers you have — name, date of birth, address, and any premium debit you can see on a bank statement. Insurers can trace a policy from those.
Find the policies, including the ones nobody mentioned
Premium debits on the bank statement are the most reliable trail — look back a full year, since many policies are paid annually. The income tax returns are the other good source, because life insurance premiums are commonly claimed as a deduction.
Check for cover the family would not think of as a policy: group life cover through an employer, cover attached to a home or vehicle loan, credit-card-linked accident cover, and the EPF-linked EDLI benefit, which is dealt with in our EPF guide.
If you suspect a policy exists but cannot identify the insurer, the industry maintains searchable records of unclaimed amounts, and each insurer publishes its own list of unclaimed policyholder money.
Submit the claim, and know what the insurer may reasonably ask
30 days from complete papers
The core set is small: the insurer's claim form, the death certificate, the original policy document, and the nominee's identity and bank details. An assignment or a change of nominee registered during the policy term will be on the insurer's record already.
Where the death happened within roughly the first three years of the policy, the insurer usually treats it as an early claim and may investigate before settling. That is normal and not an accusation. It typically means additional papers — medical records, hospital notes, the employer's certificate, or a police report where the death was accidental.
A regulated deadline applies once your papers are complete: the insurer must pay or dispute the claim, giving reasons, within 30 days of receiving all relevant papers and clarifications. And once you accept a settlement offer, payment is due within 7 days.
What to take with you
- Insurer's claim formusually requiredFrom The insurerSent to you in reply to the intimation.
- Death certificateusually required
- Original policy documentsometimes requiredA lost policy does not defeat a claim; ask about the indemnity route.
- Nominee's identity and address proofusually required
- Nominee's bank details, with a cancelled chequeusually required
- Medical or hospital recordssometimes requiredCommonly asked for on an early claim.
- Post-mortem and police reportssometimes requiredWhere the death was accidental or unnatural.
- Legal heir or succession certificatesometimes requiredWhere no nomination was registered.
If there is no nominee, or the nominee has died too
Where no nomination was registered, or the nominee predeceased the policyholder and no fresh nomination was made, the proceeds go to the legal heirs and the insurer will ask for a legal heir certificate or a succession certificate. This is slower, and it is the main reason keeping a nomination current matters.
Where the policy was assigned to someone — often a bank, as security for a loan — the assignee's rights come first, and the balance after settling that debt goes to the nominee or heirs.
If the claim stalls or is rejected
Ask for the decision in writing with reasons; the insurer is required to give them. Then escalate to the insurer's grievance redressal officer, and if that fails, to the Insurance Ombudsman, which is free to approach and handles exactly these disputes.
A rejection on the ground of non-disclosure is worth taking advice on rather than accepting. There are limits on how long after issue a policy can be questioned, and those limits are frequently misapplied.
Documents checklist
Take this list with you. A filled circle is asked for almost every time; a dashed one depends on your circumstances.
- Insurer's claim formusually required
- Death certificateusually required
- Nominee's identity, address and bank proofusually required
- Original policy documentsometimes required
- Medical / hospital recordssometimes requiredEarly claims.
- Police and post-mortem reportssometimes requiredUnnatural death.
- Legal heir or succession certificatesometimes requiredWhere there is no valid nomination.
Common questions
I am the nominee. Is the money mine, or do I hold it for the family?
For life insurance, if you are the policyholder's parent, spouse or child, section 39(7) of the Insurance Act makes you beneficially entitled — it is yours. That is different from a bank or share nomination, where the nominee generally holds for the legal heirs.
How long should the insurer take?
The insurer must pay or dispute the claim with reasons within 30 days of receiving all the papers it asked for, and must pay within 7 days of your accepting a settlement offer. If it slips, escalate to the grievance officer and then the Insurance Ombudsman.
The death was within two years of the policy starting. Is the claim in trouble?
Not in itself. Insurers treat deaths in roughly the first three years as early claims and often investigate before settling, which usually means extra documents rather than a refusal. Cooperate, keep copies, and insist on written reasons for any decision.
We cannot find the policy document. Is the claim lost?
No. Intimate the insurer with the name, date of birth and any premium debit from the bank statement — they can trace it. A lost policy document is handled with an indemnity, not a refusal.
Do we have to claim within a certain time?
There is no short deadline, and insurers hold unclaimed policyholder money rather than absorbing it. Still, intimate early: the settlement clock only starts once the insurer has your papers.
Sources
Everything on this page traces back to these. If one has changed since we checked it, the page is wrong — please tell us.
Related guides
If this helped, send it to someone who needs it. Most people find this page in the worst month of their life. Someone you know may be there now.
Nobody should have to search for this
Most of the difficulty in these pages is not the paperwork. It is not knowing what existed, where it was held, or who to ask. That part is avoidable — but only by the person who holds the information, while they still can.
KinSetu is a private record of what your family would need to find: accounts, policies, investments and documents, released to the people you name. It exists so that your family never has to reconstruct it from bank statements.
Start a free recordAbout this guide
KinSetu publishes these guides to help families understand the process of claiming assets after a death in India. They are general information, not legal, tax or financial advice, and reading them creates no professional or advisory relationship with KinSetu.
We research each guide from the institutions’ own published forms and circulars, cite them where we can, and review pages periodically. Even so, requirements vary by institution, branch, state and individual circumstance, and they change without notice. We cannot guarantee that any list of documents or steps is complete or current for your situation, and KinSetu accepts no liability for decisions taken solely on the basis of these pages.
Nomination is not inheritance. A nominee is generally the person an institution releases an asset to — not necessarily the person legally entitled to own it, which is determined by a will or by succession law. Where ownership, division between heirs, or a dispute is involved, please consult a qualified lawyer.
Found something out of date or incorrect? Tell us — we check every report and correct the page. Last reviewed on 23 August 2026.