Section 8 in The Insurance Regulatory And Development Authority (Protection Of Policy-Holders' Interests) Regulations, 2002
8. Claims procedure in respect of life insurance policy
.-(1) A life insurance policy shall state the primary documents which are normally required to be submitted by a claimant in support of a claim.(2)A life insurance company, upon receiving a claim, shall process the claim without delay. Any queries or requirement of additional documents, to the extent possible, shall be raised all at once and not in a piecemeal manner, within a period of 15 days of the receipt of the claim.(3)A claim under a life policy shall be paid or be disputed giving all the relevant reasons, within 30 days from the date of receipt of all relevant papers and clarifications required. However, where the circumstances of a claim warrant an investigation in the opinion of the insurance company, it shall initiate and complete such investigation at the earliest. Where in the opinion of the insurance company the circumstances of a claim warrant an investigation, it shall initiate and complete such investigation at the earliest, in any case not later than 6 months from the time of lodging the claim.(4)Subject to the provisions of section 47 of the Act, where a claim is ready for payment but the payment cannot be made due to any reasons of a proper identification of the payee, the life insurer shall hold the amount for the benefit of the payee and such an amount shall earn interest at the rate applicable to a savings bank account with a scheduled bank (effective from 30 days following the submission of all papers and information).(5)Where there is a delay on the part of the insurer in processing a claim for a reason other than the one covered by sub-regulation (4), the life insurance company shall pay interest on the claim amount at a rate which is 2 per cent. above the bank rate prevalent at the beginning of the financial year in which the claim is reviewed by it.
