Tips on making claims

JAKARTA (JP): Almost all life insurance companies boast that they can process claims as fast as withdrawing money from a bank. But in reality, many policyholders or their spouses face difficulties receiving their insurance benefits mainly due to the differences between the beneficiary's and the insurance company's perception of the policy.

To avoid such circumstances, we have to be very clear about the policy before we commit to it. We should explain the terms of the policy to our family and keep the policy in a safe place. If you pay your premiums through a sale agent, make sure the receipts are genuine. It is therefore important to regularly check our premium payments with the insurance company.

The premium payment receipts (especially the latest ones) are one of the important documents we need to produce when filing in a claim. So make sure you file the receipts properly.

The life insurance companies generally follow a similar procedure in settling claims. In the case of death, they usually require the spouses of the insured to provide a death notification letter from the local government office or district head. To obtain this letter, we have to produce the deceased's death certificate issued by the hospital.

If the insured died of an accident, we also have to provide a police certificate. In this particular case, some insurance companies may also insist on a postmortem of the deceased.

Although some life insurance companies allow beneficiaries a year to make the claim, it would be better to submit the claim within a week after the death of the insured.

Life insurance companies will not accept claims on death as a result of suicide, execution by the authorities or while committing a crime. The beneficiary of the insured who died of such circumstances will only receive the cash value of the policy, if any, but not the death benefits.(hen)