How To Initiate A Life Insurance Claim Upon Maturity?

A life insurance policy offers two types of benefits. You can either claim a death benefit or a maturity benefit. A death benefit is claimed after the death of the policyholder within the policy tenure. However, if the policyholder survives the policy term, the life insurance policy offers a maturity benefit only if the policy is in force and all the premiums have been duly paid by the policyholder.

How To Make a Maturity Claim?

A policyholder should note the maturity date of his life insurance policy in order to file a maturity claim on time. The insurance company also intimates the policyholder before the policy’s maturity date to start the claim process. A maturity claim should be initiated at least a month before the maturity date. The policyholder is required to send an application with all the necessary documents to the insurer so that the claim is settled as soon as the policy matures. Following are the documents required to file a maturity claim:

• Policy Discharge Form

  A policy discharge form is available on the insurance company’s website. It can be easily downloaded or obtained from the insurance company’s office. The policyholder should fill out the form and sign it. Signatures of two witnesses are also required along with a revenue stamp on the form.

  • Original policy document
  • Cancelled cheque and NEFT mandate form
  • KYC documents such as Id proof, address proof, PAN and Aadhaar Card

  The duly filled policy discharge form and the documents must be submitted to the insurer at least 7 working days before the maturity date for the claim to be processed without delay.

• Claim processing

  After receiving the policy discharge form and all the documents, the insurance company first verifies all the documents. Once verification is complete, the insurance company processes the claim and pays the policyholder. The payment is directly transferred to the policyholder’s bank account after the policy's maturity date. A policyholder can also opt for a post-dated cheque that could be sent to his address. This cheque can be deposited to the bank account to encash the same, but only after maturity.

Important Points To Remember

• Maturity benefits can be claimed only on policies with survival benefits or bonuses, unlike term plans which do not offer any maturity benefits. However, now there are term plans with a return of premiums option, where the policyholder gets all the premiums back on survival after policy tenure. This option is available at a higher premium.
• In a particular case, where the policyholder dies after maturity of the policy, but before the maturity claim process is complete, the claim is considered a maturity claim only and the amount is paid to the legal heir of the deceased policyholder.

Features of Life Insurance With Maturity Benefits

• Mostly maturity benefit is the multiple premiums paid throughout the policy tenure and any bonus the insurance company pays out to the policyholder. Any bonus, if applicable, is added at the end of the policy term.
• A life insurance policy with maturity benefits has all the features of a regular life insurance policy; it also helps build a corpus for future goals at a very affordable cost.
• It not only protects your family in your absence but also has the option to enjoy a substantial amount at maturity if you outlive the policy tenure.

If a policyholder survives after the policy tenure, claiming a maturity benefit is a seamless process, provided all the premiums are paid, and all the necessary documents are in place. The insurance company informs the policyholder two months prior to the maturity date, giving him ample time to initiate the claim process so that the maturity amount can be paid on time.

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