Did you know that in India, more than Rs 25,000 crore is lying unclaimed in insurance policies with different insurance companies? This happens because policyholders either forget to make a claim or their nominees are unaware that such policies exist.
In many instances , families miss out on these dormant funds due to outdated bank account details, misplaced documents, or lack of awareness. The good news is that tracking and claiming your unclaimed insurance money is a lot easier than trying to recover unclaimed shares or other financial assets.
Keep reading to learn what an unclaimed insurance amount is, how to check or track it, and the step-by-step process to claim what’s rightfully yours.
What is an unclaimed insurance amount?
According to IRDAI, an unclaimed insurance amount is the money that an insurance company owes to a consumer, which includes any interest that has accrued, but hasn’t been paid because they can’t reach the person and this amount stays unpaid for over 12 months from the date it was due.
These unclaimed amounts may arise from death claim, health benefit claim, maturity claim, survival benefit, surrenders/ foreclosures, refunds of excess premium, premium deposits not adjusted against premium, and indemnity (reimbursement) claims.
According to IRDAI, in case of general and standalone health insurance companies, any premium received in advance, deposits, or unallocated premium during the policy period won’t count as unclaimed amount.
However, if the advance premium or unallocated premium hasn’t been set off or adjusted against the premium during the policy period and hasn’t been refunded, then it will be considered an unclaimed amount.
How can you check and know if an insurance company is holding any unclaimed amount that belongs to you?
Finding out if an insurance company has unclaimed funds is quite a simple and quick process for policyholders and nominees. Here’s how you can do it:
“Every insurer’s official website has a dedicated section wherein they can search the unclaimed amounts using basic details such as their DOB, PAN number, Policy number, name, etc of the policyholders”, says Anita Teli – Chief Compliance Officer, Probus
“Besides that, policyholders or beneficiaries can easily check for any unclaimed insurance amounts through the IRDAI’s Bima Bharosa portal (https://bimabharosa.irdai.gov.in),”points out Neeraj Jain, EVP, IFFCO TOKIO General Insurance Company Limited.
