Does my life insurance policy cover Covid-19?

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Life insurance policy is an essential aspect of financial planning as it ensures that the financial goals of a family remain on track in case of the sudden demise of the insured. This is because in exchange for an annual premium paid by the insured every year, the insurance company pays a lumpsum amount to the family in case of untimely demise of the insured. Though an emotional void caused by losing a loved one can never be filled, the lumpsum amount at this time provides much-needed support to the family in meeting their expenses and future financial goals.

At a time when cases are rising rapidly, many are wondering if their term life insurance cover would provide the much-needed protection to their family if something unfortunate happens. Well, if you have a term insurance plan, then you should not be worried about who will take care of the financial needs of your family as life insurance covers a death caused due to Covid-19.

Here’s how the process works:

Inform the insurer: The first step should be to keep the policy details handy. Then get in touch with the agent from whom the policy was bough. Also, inform your insurer about it. You can do it by calling on the call centre or walking into the nearest branch. Check if you can intimate your insurer online on its website.

Complete the paperwork: The nominee will have to fill a form provided by the insurer including original policy papers, death certificate and police first information report (FIR) & post-mortem report if the death is due to an accident. In case there was a hospitalisation you might also have to submit a discharge summary and other documents.

Verification: The insurer starts an investigation to check the veracity of the claim.

Claim settlement: Insurers generally settle claims within 30 days of submission of your required documents. At times insurer might ask for further investigation, in that case, according to rules the insurer should finish it within six months of the written intimation of the claim. If there is a further delay then the insurers will have to pay interest for the period for the payment to get delayed.