Help with an LIC claim

1. Tell the LIC branch

Tell the LIC branch that services the policy about the death, as soon as you can.

Under IRDAI's rules, no claim can be rejected only because it was reported late or because a document is missing. You will still need to give the papers the branch asks for. Please do not hold back from telling the branch because some papers are still missing.

2. The claim form and the papers

The person entitled to the money, usually the nominee, fills in Claim Form A (Form No. 3783). If the policy has run for three years or more, Form 3783A may be used instead. With the form, the branch needs:

• a certified extract from the death register,
• the original policy document, with any assignment deeds,
• the other papers the branch asks for.

Depending on the case, these can include proof of death and of your right to the money, bank details so that LIC can pay directly by NEFT, a FIR and post-mortem report if the death was an accident, or the hospital discharge summary if the death happened in hospital. Ask the branch for the exact list for your policy. LIC pays the claim money to the claimant's bank account.

3. If the death was within about three years of the policy start or revival

LIC may investigate the claim and ask for more papers. Ask the branch which papers it needs.

4. Maturity and survival benefits

For a maturity claim, LIC usually sends an intimation about two months before the due date. Send Form No. 3825 with the original policy document to the branch at least one month before the due date. If a maturity payment is due within two months and you have had no intimation, contact the servicing branch.

For survival benefits the form is No. 5180. Some survival payments are made directly without forms, so check with the branch.

5. How long LIC should take

These are IRDAI's rules for LIC. They are not a promise from this site or from me.

• A death claim that needs no investigation: within 15 days of the claim being reported to LIC.
• A death claim that needs an investigation: within 45 days of the claim being reported.
• Maturity and survival benefits: on the due date.
• If payment is late, LIC pays interest at the bank rate plus 2 percent, along with the claim.

Rules can change, so the branch confirms what applies today.

6. If you are not satisfied

First write to the branch or to LIC's Grievance Redressal Officers, or use the LIC customer portal. LIC should reply within 14 days.

• If you are still not satisfied, or get no reply, you can go to IRDAI's Bima Bharosa portal.
• You can also go to the Insurance Ombudsman. This is free, but you must have complained to LIC first, and you file within one year.
• A rejected death claim can also be reviewed by LIC's Claims Dispute Redressal Committee.

All the contact details are on the grievance page.

The nominee

The nominee receives the claim money on the policyholder's death. A spouse, parents and children named as nominees are described in the Insurance Act as beneficially entitled to the money. Disagreements between legal heirs can still arise.

Keeping the nomination up to date matters. Changes are made at the servicing LIC branch.

Wrong information in the proposal (Section 45)

After three years from the date the policy was issued, started or revived (whichever is latest), a life policy cannot be challenged for wrong information in the proposal. Within the first three years, LIC must give its written grounds before it repudiates a claim. LIC can still ask for proof of age.

This is about challenging a policy for wrong statements in the proposal. It does not mean a claim can never be rejected. It is general information, not legal advice.

How I can help

I can help you collect the forms, explain the steps, check the list of papers with the branch, and remind you of dates.

I do not submit, approve, speed up or decide a claim, and I never receive claim money. LIC decides and pays.