How to quickly claim settlement in case of a natural calamity

Mumbai: When you are in the midst of a natural calamity, the last thing that you would want to indulge in is to repeatedly follow up or chase your insurer for a claim. While IRDAI and other insurers have taken due measures to make this process less strenuous, the onus also rests with you to take appropriate steps for ensuring seamless claim process. Here are a few steps that can help you achieve this:

At the time of buying the policy

Understand the claim settlement ratio: claims settlement ratio refers to total number of claims settled by the insurer in a year. It indicates the efficiency of the insurer in settling claims. Typically, any insurer with 95 per cent – 98 per cent claims settlement is considered to be healthy. You must avoid any insurer that rejects more than 10 per cent of registered claims (also known as Claims Repudiation Ratio).

Also, don’t forget to enquire about the percentage of claims settled by the company within just 30 days of claims registration. The greater the percentage, higher will be your chance of getting your money on time.

Transparency: your insurer can deny claim if there is any discrepancy in the information shared by you. For instance; hiding any pre-existing medical condition in order to lower your premium outgo may not be wise as it may lead to claims rejection later on. Remember, what you may rule out to be irrelevant, can be of utmost importance to your insurer. So, make sure that you disclose all relevant information at the time of buying a policy.

Read your policy: Your insurance policy comes with certain set of exclusions and hence, it is imperative for you to have clear understanding of what is excluded from the plan. For instance, your home insurance plan would cover for flood in the ‘allied perils’ category. However, it will not cover damages from heavy rain, water seepage or broken roof. Your insurer can reject your request should you claim benefits against these.

Insurer cannot reject your claim if you addressed each of their questions honestly and to the best of your knowledge.

When your policy is in force

Make timely payment: While IRDAI has directed both life and general insurers to resort to policy numbers and physical evidence of loss to ease the claim process in case of a natural calamity, it would hold no value if your policy is in a lapsed state. Hence, make timely premium payment in order for your policy to remain in-force. Remember that you do have an option to reinstate your lapsed policy.

Documentation: Keep documents related to your policy handy. This is inclusive of policy documents and supporting bills. Also, it will help if you file duplicate copies for safekeeping. You need not worry if you lose relevant documents during such calamity. Thanks to IRDAI directive, insurers will consider your claim on the basis of physical evidence of your loss such as photographs taken at site, identity or resident proof etc.

Keep your personal information updated: Notify your insurer in case of change of residence, phone number, nominee, etc. This would help ensure smooth communication process at the time of need.

While filing a claim

Notify your insurer: You must notify your insurer about any mishaps or calamity within 72 hours by phone call, text message, or through online platform. Delay in filing timely claim may cost you dearly.

Following these steps may help expedite your claim process. However, if your claims are still denied, consider approaching your insurer’s grievance redressal department, followed by the Insurance Ombudsman, if need be.

(The article is written by Yashish Dahiya, CEO and co-founder of Policybazaar.com)