One of the biggest benefits of a pension plan is that it provides incomes after retirement. Pension schemes available in India help you cover your living expenses post retirement by providing a guaranteed income. With the variety of pension plans available out there, you can choose from one which suits your needs best. While some plans provide you with lifelong income, there are others which offer better returns.

Some pension plans provide partial lump sum payments which can help you meet major expenses through life. Before your retirement, you may have several major expenses to take care of life purchasing a house, financing your child’s education, etc. Before you choose a policy, make sure you go over the details of the policy so you know exactly what you will be getting from it.

Investing in an insurance policy comes with a set of tax benefits which you can avail. The same applies to retirement insurance plans. Check all the policies which you may have short-listed for the tax benefits they offer. Investing in a pension plan from an early age can help you save considerably on tax payments. Check your policy details to find out and understand the ways in which you may benefit from the available provisions of tax exemption under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act.

In addition to providing income post retirement, pension plans also provide insurance cover. This is especially useful to provide protection in the unfortunate event of a death following which the family’s income will be protected. This is helpful so that the surviving spouse does not have to undergo the financial burden following an unfortunate event.

The main purpose of taking an insurance policy is that it should come in use in times of crisis. 

Death claim settlement process

Step One:  Intimation to the insurance company about the claim.

The nominee should inform the insurance company as soon as possible to enable the insurance company to start with the claim process. The details required for intimation are policy number, name of the insured, date of death, cause of death, place of death, name of the nominee, etc. The claim intimation form can be obtained from us or even by downloading it from the insurance company website.

Step Two: Documents required

    1.    The nominee will be asked to furnish the following documents:

    2.    Death certificate

    3.    Age of the life insured (if not already given)

    4.    Original Policy document

    5.    Any other document as per the requirement of the particular insurer or case-related.

    6.    For early death claims i.e. the claim that has arisen within three years of the policy is in force the company will do an extra investigation to ensure it is a genuine claim. They might do the following:

    >>    Check with the hospital if the deceased was admitted to the hospital.

    >>    In case of an air crash confirmation from the airline, authorities check if the policyholder was a passenger on the plane.

    >>    In case of death from medical causes, the insurance company will ask the hospital to provide doctor's certificate, treatment records etc If the policyholder dies due to murder, suicide, accident then police FIR report, post mortem report etc shall be required.

Step Three: Submission of required Documents for Claim Processing

For quicker claim processing, the nominee must submit complete documentation as early as possible and any other documents that the company needs to pass the claim.

Step Four: Settlement of Claim

As per the regulation 8 of the IRDAI (Policy holder's Interest) Regulations, 2002, the insurer is obligated to settle a claim within 30 days of receipt of all necessary documents including extra documents sought by the insurer. If the claim requires further investigation, the insurer needs to complete its procedures within 6 months from receiving the written intimation of claim.

The payment made by the insurance company on completion of the term of policy or maturity date is called maturity payment. The amount payable consists of sum assured plus any bonus/incentives.

The insurance company informs the policyholder in advance by sending bank discharge form for filling details in it. The form needs to be returned to the insurance company with an original policy document, ID proof, Cancelled Cheque and copy of passbook.

Different riders can be attached to the base life insurance policy for enhanced protection. The riders can be an accidental rider, critical illness rider, waiver of premium rider etc. For different riders, different claim proceedings are required. Some riders may be valid with the death claim like accidental death rider or some riders need to processed standalone like a waiver of premium rider in case of disability.

For Critical Illness Rider- necessary medical documents such as first diagnosis report, Doctor's report, etc are required. For Accidental disability rider - a copy of FIR, Certificate of disability by the treating doctor, doctor's report etc are required.