When did you last checked your Insurance Policy status?

When did you last checked your insurance policy status? Do you find this question a little awkward? If yes, then you must check your policy status right away, whether Life Insurance or General Insurance.

The Incident

I clearly remember an incident, when I got a call in the night couple of years ago from my friend. He told me that he had met with an accident. I rushed to the place where the accident took place. My friend was good by the god’s grace, but his car was in really bad condition. The car was lying on its sides in the middle of the road (See the photo of the incident below).

We left the car there and went to the nearest police station to report the incident. Police arranged to shift the car from the middle of the road. My friend was confident that he will get repair expenses reimbursed through his car insurance policy. However, the surprise came in the morning when he consulted his insurance agent. The car insurance was only third party insurance, not the fully comprehensive insurance to cover all the losses. Finally, he ended up paying all the repair costs on is own.

Do you know about your Insurance Policy?

Many of us do not check our policy status for years. Even we don’t know what are the conditions of our policy. Every time we depend on a reminder from the agent or company. But we always forget that insurance policy is issued in our name and will be beneficial for us or our loved ones. Therefore, we have to keep track of our insurance policy status. Many of us may not have visited the insurance company’s office even once. Even don’t know where is the branch of the insurance company? where your policy is being serviced?

Keeping track of your insurance policy is very important. Especially when they are very short term policies like your car insurance, motorcycle insurance, or fire insurance. If not renewed on time you may have to pay some additional amount to renew them. Moreover, in the case of an accident, you may not be able to claim the losses.

Why check your insurance policy?

There are many reasons to check your policy whenever you buy it or in between the policy term. below are the reasons for “WHY”!

1. So that you know every condition of your insurance policy. Have you read your policy document?
2. What is the premium amount and when to pay the premiums if they are long term policy?
3. To know whether they are issued on some restrictions or clauses, especially when you have taken a health insurance policy (Insurance company attaches endorsement for restriction/clauses on your policy document).
4. Details related to the issuing and servicing office of the insurer.
5. Whether the details provided by you in the proposal form are the same as mentioned in the policy document.
6. To know whether your contact details like contact number, email Id or communication address is correct on your policy.
7. To know if the policy term is the same as you specified in the proposal form. I have heard many incidents where agents converted a “Single Premium policy” to regular premium paying policy to get more commission.
8. when you are going to get the benefits from your policy like survival benefits and maturity benefit.

There are many other “WHYs” which I may not have listed here, but it is very important to go through your policy bond as soon as you receive one. If you have not received your policy document yet, consult your agent immediately or the concerned insurance office.

When to check your insurance policy status?

Regularly checking the status of your insurance policy is also important besides knowing all its conditions. So, when you should check your insurance policy status

1. You must check the status of your policy minimum once a year.
2. If you are paying the premium to your agent and he is depositing the premium in office, then you should check the status of your policy within 15-30 days of handing over the cash to an agent. Keep in mind, this is not a credibility check for your agent, but keeping track of your hard-earned money.
3. If your policy mode is Salary Savings (SSS) or ECS mode (Monthly), then you should check the policy status in a minimum of six months. Use any of the above-mentioned methods to know whether your premiums are being adjusted on time or not.
4. You should check the status of your general insurance policy (if for one year only) after 9-10 months. It will help you to renew the policy on time.
5. If your policy is a money-back policy, then you should check the status at least before 6 months of the due date of benefits.
6. If you are paying the premium online, then also you can confirm the status of your premium payments.
7. 6 months before the maturity of your differed annuity policy, so that you can excise proper annuity option before maturity to start your pension on time.
8. Every 5 years in policies in which you are already getting an annuity. Annuitant has to submit the existence certificate to the company every five years (or as per instructions issued by the insurance company). If not submitted, the annuity is kept on hold till the certificate is received.

How to check insurance policy status & conditions

So, the question arises, how to check the conditions and status of your insurance policy. Here are some points which can help you.

1. Every policy document has all conditions. There may be a separate annexure with all the terms and conditions. Read it once very carefully.
2. If you do not find the terms and conditions of your insurance policy. Simply ask your insurance agent. You can visit the insurance office or read the details online.
3. Almost every insurance company now has an application or online portal. Register yourself on them to keep track of your policies.
4. To know how to register on LIC customer portal read our post: एलआईसी ई-सेवाओं के लिए रजिस्ट्रेशन कैसे करें?
5. You can know your LIC policy status with registering on the customer portal, read our latest post: How to check LIC policy status online?
6. Talk to your insurance agent to know more about your insurance policy.

Conclusion

Knowing your insurance policy conditions and checking the status of your policy will always save your time and hard-earned money. Ignorance can lead to many troubles or even non-payment of claims if the policy is in lapsed condition. Always keep your insurance policy bond safe. Do not disclose your policy details on unknown calls read: How to protect yourself from insurance frauds. In the case of any confusion, do not hesitate to visit the office of the insurer.  Keep yourself informed and protected all the time.

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