Ch. 9: How to Claim Retirement Annuity Plan: Steps and Document Required

We learned about General and Single-premium Annuity Plans in our previous articles.

A General Annuity Plan requires you to make a series of payments, whereas a Single-premium Annuity Plan requires you to make a single, lump sum payment. Both these plans help in managing your post-retirement expenses by offering a steady stream of income.

Besides this regular income, some General and Single-premium Annuity Plans also offer financial protection to your family. They provide a death benefit, i.e., a fixed sum of money, and help secure your family’s financial future for a time when you may not be around anymore.

Now, the claim process for filing a death claim under an Annuity Plan can be quite tedious. And, your nominee will have to go through the entire process by themselves - you won’t be around to help them. So, to ensure they don’t face any difficulties, it is crucial that you inform them about the steps involved in the claim process, the documents they’ll need to submit, etc.

What Are The Steps Involved In The Annuity Plan Claim Process?

You can only make a claim for the death benefit. There is no claims process involved for the maturity/vesting benefit.

Here are the steps involved in filing a death claim under a General and Single-premium Annuity Plan -

Step 1: Informing the insurance company

The very first thing your nominee will have to do is inform the insurance company about the death. This can be done in several ways, like -

• Visiting the insurer’s website
• Sending an email to the insurer
• Sending an SMS to the insurer
• Calling the insurer on their toll-free number
• Visiting the insurer’s branch office

Step 2: Submitting the documents

The next step involves submitting the documents to the insurance company. Your nominee will have to bring together all the documents and send them to the insurer's branch or head office.

Two important things you must note here -

• Inform your nominee to take a system-generated acknowledgment from the insurer when they submit the documents.
• Ask them to keep scanned copies of all the documents they submit - to avoid any hassles during the claims process.

As soon as the insurance company receives all the claim documents, they will go ahead with the claim intimation request.

Step 3: Submitting additional documents

Depending on the circumstances of the death, the insurer may ask your nominee to submit additional documents related to the claim. If this is the case, your nominee will have to ensure that they submit these documents within 90 days from the date of request.

Now that you’ve understood the claims process, let’s take a look at the documents the insurer may ask your nominee to submit.

What Are The Documents Your Nominee Will Require To Submit?

Here’s a list of the documents the insurer may ask your nominee to submit when they file a claim under a General or a Single-Premium Annuity Plan.

• Claimant Statement Form
• Self-attested copy of the Death Certificate
• Original Policy Document
• Self-attested copies of the relationship proof and KYC documents of the beneficiary
• Bank details of the beneficiary In addition to the above documents, the insurer may also ask for your (the annuitant’s) proof of age in case your age is not admitted under the General or the Single-premium Annuity Plan.

Important Things To Note

1. The steps involved in the claims process, as well as the documents required to be submitted, will vary across insurers. Ensure you ask your insurer about both these things at the time of buying the Annuity Plan - so that your nominee doesn’t have to go through any hassles while filing the claim.

2. Once you get the document list from the insurer, bring together all the documents and keep them in a safe place to avoid misplacement. You can also -

• Open a Digilocker or an e-insurance account.
• Store all the documents in digital format.
• Share the account details, passwords, etc. with your nominee and family.
  

This will also ensure that your nominee has ready access to all the documents at the time of claim.

Wrapping up!

Remember, you’ll be completely out of the picture at the time of claim. Your nominee will have to go through the entire claim process by themselves. So, to avoid leaving any loose ends that might cause problems later, make sure you sit down with your nominee and -

• Take them through the claim process.
• Give them the list of documents they’ll need to submit.
• Share the account details of the Digilocker e-insurance account.
• Share contact details of your financial advisor (if you've bought the Annuity Plan through a financial advisor).
  The next article is a curated checklist of the things you should keep in mind before finalising your plan purchase. Go through it so you can ensure a smooth insurance journey for you and your family.