Obviously, no one buys insurance expecting something bad to happen, but it is a preventive measure to ensure security and financial stability for family and loved ones in case of illness, accident, or death.

The fact is that if any of the covered situations occur, it is important for the beneficiaries to know the procedures to receive the life insurance.

In this article, we will explain the main steps of how to request payment of life insurance.

How to Request Payment of Life Insurance

When you take out a life insurance policy, it is very important to inform your family and loved ones that you have taken out the insurance and allow them to have easy access to the contract documents in case of need.

Many people take out insurance and do not inform the beneficiaries, who often do not even know that they have the right to receive compensation.

That said, let's go through the step-by-step process of requesting payment of life insurance.

Check the Policy

The policy is nothing more than the contract, the document that contains all the data related to the contracted insurance, such as the coverage indications, indemnity values, beneficiaries, etc.

In the article Life Insurance: Everything You Need to Know, we explain all the main details of how the insurance contract works.

With the policy in hand, it is necessary to check if the event that occurred is covered within the contracted conditions.

As we have explained in other articles, life insurance can cover, in addition to the death of the insured person, several other complementary situations, such as disability, medical expenses, diagnoses of serious illnesses.

Identifying the occurrence of a covered event, it is then necessary to identify the beneficiaries, that is, the people entitled to receive the compensation.

If the policy does not expressly name beneficiaries, the Civil Code establishes that the indemnity amount will be paid in the proportion of 50% to the spouse and the other 50% will be shared among the legal heirs.

Notify the Insurance Company of the Incident

Once the occurrence of a covered event (incident) and the beneficiaries entitled to payment of life insurance have been identified, it is necessary to contact the insurance company and report the incident.

In the event of the insured's death, beneficiaries have 3 years to request payment of life insurance.

If the insured person is also the beneficiary (as in the case of coverage for disability, illnesses, etc.), the deadline to make the payment request is only 1 year.

Therefore, it is very important to pay attention so as not to miss the deadline for requesting payment of the insurance.

Upon receiving the incident notification, the insurance company will provide a notice of incident form, which is the document where the reason for the payment request will be indicated and the documents that must be submitted to the insurance company.

The main documents requested for payment of life insurance are:

• Completed notice of incident form
• Death certificate (if applicable)
• Marriage or birth certificate with current date (issued after death)
• Minor Beneficiary: simple copy of birth certificate
• Beneficiary between 16 and 18 years old: simple copy of CPF (Brazilian tax identification)
• Adult Beneficiary: ID, CPF, and proof of residence

For coverage of other events, such as disability, other documents may be requested, such as medical certificates and exams proving the sequelae left by the accident as well as the degree of disability, Work Accident Communication (CAT), driver's license, police report, if receiving any benefit from the INSS, take a copy.

Deadline for Payment of Life Insurance

The Superintendence of Private Insurance (Susep), which is the body that regulates insurance in Brazil, establishes that after the delivery of complete documentation, the insurance company has a period of 30 days to make the indemnity payment to the beneficiary.

If the insurance company understands that it needs more documents or additional clarifications, this period may be extended.

Can the insurance company deny payment of life insurance?

Yes. In certain occasions, the insurance company may deny payment of the indemnity.

Among the most common reasons for denial of indemnity payment by the insurance company can be mentioned the allegation of uncovered risk, grace period, allegation of pre-existing illness, default on payment of installments.

In the event of a denial of payment of insurance indemnity, it is recommended that the beneficiary seek the support of a specialist lawyer in order to make a better analysis of the case and determine whether the denial of the insurance company is justifiable or not.

In many cases, the denial of payment of life insurance is abusive and can be reviewed through a lawsuit.

In addition, it is important to pay attention to the deadline for contesting the denial of payment of insurance.

Source: JusBrasil

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