RIGHTS AND DUTIES

 

As a smart consumer, you should be aware of your duties and rights about your policy coverage and claims.
 
Duties:

When you buy a policy:

• Fill the proposal form yourself correctly and truthfully, it is the basis of the insurance contract
• Do not leave any column blank, do not sign a blank proposal form
• You will be responsible for any information in this document as it bears your signature. Disclose “all material information” about the risk you want to cover
• Select the term of the policy as per your needs
• Select the amount of premium you can afford to pay
• Choose between Single Premium or Regular Premium
• Choose your premium paying frequency such as annual, half-yearly, quarterly or monthly
• Opt for electronic payment of your premium (ECS) for your convenience, safety and records
• Ensure to register nomination under your policy. Fill the nominee’s name correctly
• Ensure that your communication details mentioned in the proposal/other forms are correct, in case of changes at a later stage, the same are informed to the Insurer. This is very important as Insurers send information relating to various services such as proposal registration, claims details, status etc. 

After you buy the policy:

• Once the proposal is submitted, you should hear from the insurance company in 15 days
• If not, take up the matter in writing
• If any additional documents are asked for, comply immediately
• Once the proposal is accepted by the insurance company, the policy bond should reach you within a reasonable amount of time
• If not contact the insurance company about it
• When policy bond is received, check it and be sure that the policy is the one that you wanted.
• Go through all the policy conditions and be sure that these are the same that were explained to you by the intermediary/ insurance company official at the time of sale
• In case of doubts, contact the intermediary/ insurance company official immediately for clarification.
• If necessary contact the insurance company directly

Maintaining the policy:

• Pay your premium regularly on the due dates/ within the grace period
• Do not wait for a premium notice. It is only a courtesy. It is your duty to pay the premium to avoid lapsation or other penalties
• Do not wait for your intermediary or anyone to pick your cheque up. Make your own arrangement for paying the premium on time
• If there is a change of address, contact details please intimate the insurance company immediately.

Nomination:

• After the policy is issued, you can change the nomination by:
• Filling a notice of change of nomination and
• Sending them to the insurance company for them to register it in their records
• If the nominee is a minor, appoint an appointee to receive any claim paid while the nominee is still a minor
• Get the appointee to sign in the endorsement showing consent to act as an appointee

If your policy lapses:

• If you fail to pay the premium in time, your policy may lapse. Contact the insurance company for reviving it.

If you lose your policy:

• If you lose your policy bond, report it to the insurance company immediately
• Get a duplicate policy by complying with the formalities
• The duplicate policy confers the same rights as the original policy bond

At the time of a claim:

• Comply with all the requirements of the insurance company
• Whenever required, you should help the insurer in a prosecution or for recovery of claims which the insurer has against third parties

Rights:

You have the right to

• Cancel a life insurance policy within 15 days from the date of receipt of the policy document. If you disagree to any of the terms or conditions in the policy. For Health policies the option of Free Look may be exercised provided that the term of the policy is at least three years.
• You can
• Return the policy stating the reasons for objection
• You will be entitled to a refund of the premium paid
• A proportionate risk premium for the period on cover and the expenses incurred by the insurer on medical examination and stamp duty charges will be deducted
• If it is a unit linked insurance policy (ULIP) in addition, the insurer can repurchase the units at the price on the cancellation date

ULIPs

• You have the right to partial withdrawal
• You have the right to switch funds
• You can surrender the policy after the lock-in period from the date of commencement of the policy
• The nominee/assignee under a life insurance policy has the right to the death claim amount
• You can ask for alterations in the policy such as:
• Mode of payment of premium
• Term of the policy
• Increase in sum assured and
• Premium redirection