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Picture this: you’ve sadly passed away, and your family are backing up your computer. They come across your life cover policy documents, saved with other important files. They’re confused. Who knew you even had life insurance? Can they still make a claim? How do they even go about that?

Never fear! We’ll take you through making a life insurance claim now, so you can answer your family’s questions (or just send them this article). 

What’s needed to review a life insurance claim?

We understand that losing a loved one can be hard, so we try to make things as easy as possible. That said, we do need some paperwork to start and review any insurance claim.

Your family will need to download and fill out a Life Cover Benefit claim form first. This includes some general information about you and your policy, the person making the claim, and the beneficiaries you’ve picked.

We’ll also need certified copies of documents that back up the details written on the claim form. The documents we need are listed on the Life Cover Benefit claim form. Some examples of what might be sent to us include a death certificate, your birth certificate, a copy of your Will or bank statements.

We’ve mentioned that these documents must be certified copies, but what does that mean? Basically, these are photocopies signed by a Justice of the Peace, solicitor or anyone else with the legal power to do this. Don’t send originals! You may need them to take care of other important business.

What if I’m diagnosed with a terminal illness?

Making a claim for a terminal illness diagnosis is a bit different to claims made when someone passes away.

Firstly, you’ll need to download a Terminal Illness Benefit claim form. You (or whoever fills it out for you) will need to complete the first section of the form. This includes some details about yourself, your illness and giving us permission to ask for a medical report (if it’s needed to review the claim).

Section two needs to be filled out by the main medical specialist treating you. They’ll need to provide details about your diagnosis, treatment and test results related to the illness. 

What if some of my documents are in a different language?

We love that Kiwis come from all over the world! We get that the documents we ask for are sometimes printed or filled out in languages other than English. This is okay, but we do ask that whoever makes the claim gets them translated before copies are sent to us.

To do this, you’ll need to use a professional translating service that can verify that their translation is accurate.

Who can make a claim on my life insurance policy?

Anyone can start a life insurance claim, but it’s generally better if a beneficiary does it. We respect your privacy and the privacy of your beneficiaries, so we’ll only discuss your life cover policy with them. (There are two exceptions to this: 1. If you’re making a terminal illness claim whilst you’re still alive we can talk to you, or 2. If a beneficiary is under 16 years old when you pass away we’ll need to talk to their parent or legal guardian to get everything sorted.)

No matter who starts the claim, the money will only be paid to the beneficiaries you’ve picked. To check this, we’ll need certified copies of documents that prove they are who they say they are. We’ll also need bank details for each beneficiary (or their legal guardian, if they’re under 16) so we know where to send each share.

How long do life insurance claims take?

Now it’s time to wait—but we’ll get things sorted as quick as we can. You’ll get an email or call to confirm that we’ve received everything or to let you know if there’s a problem with the paperwork. If anything is incorrect or missing, we’ll need to wait until everything arrives before transferring any money.

Life cover claims are a bit tricky to predict since we might need to wait for medical records or other info from your doctor. Just know that once we’ve got all the right documents, we’ll get things paid as quickly as possible!

How to help your family now

You may not be around when a claim is made on your life cover policy, but that doesn’t mean you can’t help your family with it. There are steps you can take now that could make things go more smoothly when the time comes.

• Pay your policy on time – Your policy could be cancelled if we don’t receive the payments on time. If it’s cancelled, your family won’t be able to make a claim. Remember to update your credit card details before the card expires or set up direct debit to remove this hassle.
• Tell your family about your policy – Your family won’t know to make a claim if they don’t know about your policy! Let a trusted family member or close friend know you have one or where to find the policy documents.
• Talk about exclusions – Often, family members don’t realise there are rules for when we’ll pay a life cover claim. They might have more important things on their mind than reading the policy wording before making a claim. Pointing out the exclusions on your policy could help them understand when we will or won’t pay the benefit a bit better.

Get to know your policy

We can’t make life insurance claims fun, but we can make them as quick and painless as possible. Knowing more about the claims process could help your family get through the experience a little easier when the time comes.

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Disclaimer: The information in this article is for general use only. It doesn’t take into account your personal financial situation. If you’re unsure if this information meets your needs, you may want to seek professional financial advice.

The product information in this article was correct at the time it was published. Some details may have changed since then. For up-to-date product information, please visit the Dollar Insurance website.

About the author: Dollar Insurance is all about making insurance as painless as possible, so everyday Kiwis can make life cover and funeral cover a part of their plan.