Group Term Insurance Claims Process

Apart from securing employees’ health, companies are also helping employees secure their family’s financial future by offering life insurance coverage. Group term insurance is a type of life insurance coverage which provides coverage to the group’s family in case of an untimely death of the employee. Read this blog to understand the group term insurance claims process. 

What is group term insurance? 

As the name suggests, group term insurance is provided to a group of people employed in an organisation 

• It is a type of life insurance policy that helps employees ensure complete financial security of their families.
• The coverage under this type of insurance can be extended to a group of individuals who are customers of a bank, NGOs, non-banking financial institutions, employer-employee groups, and microfinance institutions.
• The coverage offered to the group member may vary depending on the grade of the members of the group.
• In some cases, depending on the employer, the coverage may be uniform for all the members.
• Few insurance companies also offer an option of adding riders to the basic term plan. At an additional premium, employers can opt for riders such as critical illness riders, waiver of premium, etc to provide additional coverage to the employees. 

How does group term insurance work? 

• Under a group term insurance, the employer chooses the insurance company with whom they would like to insure the lives of their employees 
• The sum assured or the extent of coverage is chosen by the employer.
• The premium for this type of policy is paid by the employer. Whereas, few employers may offer coverage to the employees by deducting the premium amount from the salary.
• No individual underwriting as new members can be added to the plan anytime, without any medical check-up.
• Since premium for this type of insurance is paid by the employer, there is no question of policy lapse.
• Since this type of policy offers coverage to the members of a group, the premium is lower than that of individual term plans 

 Group term insurance claims process 

 Filing claim for term insurance is easy if you follow the below steps: 

• Download the claim form the insurance company’s website or connect with the members employer 
• Fill the claim form and submit the same along with necessary documents to the insurance company
• Death certificate or post-mortem report in case of death due to accident also has to be submitted
• On receiving the required documents, the insurance company will settle the claim in 30 days
• In case if the insurance company feels the need for further investigation, the claim is settled within 6 months.  

Documents required for group term insurance claims 

Here is a list of documents that have to be submitted at the time of claim. Please note that the list of documents to be submitted at the time of claim may vary from insurer to insurer.  

• Death certificate
• Original policy documents
• Identity proof
• Address proof
• Medical records of the policyholder
• Additional documents like FIR copy, panchnama report, autopsy report if demanded by the insurance company 

 FAQs related to group term insurance claim process 

What is the minimum and maximum age to get coverage under a group term plan? 

Minimum and maximum age to avail coverage under group term insurance plan is 18 and 69 years which may vary from insurer to insurer 

Who pays the premium for a group term insurance policy? 

Usually, premium for group term plan is paid by the employer 

Who can file a claim for group term insurance? 

The beneficiary of the insured member can file a claim for coverage under group term life plan