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Should there be a death
in the family, and you have life insurance,
you should be provided with cash immediately
to meet your pressing needs. However,
you can't get hold of that cash without
filing a claim. With the amount of money
involved, you need to follow certain guidelines
to make sure your claim is filed properly.
Firstly, you should call the agent or
broker that helped you apply for the insurance
policy in the first place. The life insurance
agent can help you with the details of
how to fill out your form, but you should
help yourself by making sure you have
your policy paperwork on hand. The agent
should also act as an intermediary with
the insurance company to help move the
claim along.
If you have the paperwork to hand, but
you do not know who the deceased's agent
was, you should deal with the life insurance
company directly. This is as simple as
calling or writing to their nearest office
to you and asking what procedure should
be followed. Make sure you follow that
procedure to the letter though to expedite
your claim. One of the things you may
have to do is to secure some certified
copies of the death certificate from the
funeral director. You'll need a certificate
for each life insurance claim. You should
submit the death certificate along with
your claim form and the policy itself,
or at least its number.
Should you have no information at all
relating to the claim, don't know the
name of the company, and don't know who
the deceased's agent is, you can still
write to the Missing policy service, including
a self-addressed business size envelope.
This inquiry would be passed to about
100 of the largest life insurance companies
to try and locate your lost policy. You
will be charged a nominal fee for this
service to cover administration costs.
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Should you have no information
at all relating to the claim, don't know
the name of the company, and don't know
who the deceased's agent is, you can still
write to the Missing policy service, including
a self-addressed business size envelope.
This inquiry would be passed to about
100 of the largest life insurance companies
to try and locate your lost policy. You
will be charged a nominal fee for this
service to cover administration costs.
You should receive a settlement in fairly
short order once you have submitted the
claim. This could be in many forms, depending
on your choice or that of the original
policyholder.
The lump sum, allowing you to use it
for whatever you need, such as funeral
expenses, any debts, or your own living
costs. Then there is the interest income
option, where the life insurance company
pays interest on the proceeds whilst still
holding them for a specified period, or
until the funds are finished. Maybe you
would prefer the life income option, which
is similar to an annuity, in which you
are guaranteed an income for life, with
the amount of income depending on the
size of the death benefit and your age
and gender when the insured has died.
You should go to a financial advisor
to make sure you are selecting the best
option.
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