List of necessary documents for buying Insurance Policies in India as well as claim processing

Buying insurance plans has become quite simple due to the availability of the online platform which allows you to buy a policy from your home or office. Whenever you buy insurance whether online or through insurance agents, you are required to submit a set of documents to the insurance company. An insurance policy is a legal contract and thus, to establish the legality of the contract, insurance documents are needed. After the insurance company verifies the submitted documents, the insurance policy is issued. Moreover, at the time of an insurance claim, a specific set of documents would have to be submitted for claim settlement.

Since documents are important for buying insurance and also for making a claim, let’s have a look at the types of documents needed for insurance.

1. What are the documents required for buying insurance plans in India?
   Different documents are required to buy different types of insurance plans. So, let’s analyse the documents required to buy different types of insurance plans separately-
   • Life insurance
     To buy a life insurance policy, the following documents would be required-
   1. Life insurance proposal form, duly filled and signed by the proposer and/or the life insured
   2. Photograph of the proposer 
   3. Photograph of the life insured (if different from the proposer)
   4. Age proof of the proposer and/or the life insured 
   5. Identity proof of the proposer and/or the life insured
   6. Address proof of the proposer
   7. Medical examination report of the life insured if required by the policy because of the age and/or the sum assured chosen 
   8. Income proof of the proposer if the sum assured and/or the premium of the policy is high
   9. PAN card of the proposer
   • Health insurance
     For a health insurance plan, the following set of documents would be needed to be submitted –
   1. Health insurance proposal form, duly filled and signed by the proposer
   2. Identity proof of the proposer and the insured members
   3. Age proof of the insured members
   4. Address proof of the proposer and insured members
   5. Medical examination report if pre-entrance medical check-ups are specified by the insurance company due to the age and/or the sum insured chosen 
   6. Income proof of the proposer for very high sum insured levels
   • Motor insurance
     To buy a car or a bike insurance plan, the following insurance documents would be required –
   1. Proposal form for car or bike insurance, duly filled and signed by the vehicle owner
   2. Invoice of the vehicle if a new insurance policy is being bought
   3. RC book of the vehicle
   4. Identity proof of the proposer
   5. Address proof of the proposer
2. What are the documents required for insurance claim?
   In case of a claim in your insurance policy, the requirement of insurance documents would depend on the type of insurance policy that you have bought and the type of claim suffered. So, here is a look into the claim-related documents which would be needed in different types of insurance claims:
   • Life insurance claims
     Life insurance claims can be maturity claims, money back claims or death claims. The documents needed for maturity and money-back claims are the same while for death claims, the documents are different. Let’s understand how –
   1. Documents needed for maturity or survival claims
      1. Discharge voucher sent by the insurance company, duly filled and signed by the policyholder
      2. Life insurance policy bond
      3. Identity proof of the policyholder, legal heirs or assignee as the case may be
      4. Bank account details of the policyholder, legal heirs or assignee as the case may be
      5. Age proof of the insured member if it was not submitted at the time of buying the policy
   2. Documents needed for death claims
      1. The death claim form, duly filled and signed by the nominee
      2. Life insurance policy bond
      3. Death certificate of the life insured
      4. Identity proof of the nominee, legal heirs or assignee as the case may be
      5. Bank account details of the nominee, legal heirs or assignee as the case may be
      6. Police FIR if death happened due to an accident
      7. Post-mortem report, coroner’s report, police inquest report, panchnama and other relevant records if death happened in an accident
      8. Any other document as needed by the insurance company to settle the claim
   • Health insurance claims
     In the case of health insurance claims, the documents required for insurance claim are as follows –
   1. Pre-authorization claim form for cashless hospitalisation. This form should be filled and submitted within 24 hours of emergency hospitalisation. In case of planned hospitalisation, the form should be submitted at least 3-4 days before hospitalisation
   2. Health card issued by the insurance company
   3. Identity proof of the insured member
   4. The claim form, duly filled and signed by the policyholder
   5. Discharge summary or certificate of the patient
   6. All medical bills and reports in original
   7. Hospital records and investigative reports
   8. Medical prescriptions and cash invoice in original
   9. Police FIR or a Medico-Legal Certificate in case of accidental hospitalisation 
   10. Doctor’s prescription advising hospitalisation
   11. Reports of all attending medical practitioners
   12. Bank details of the policyholder in case of reimbursement claims
   13. Any other document as needed by the insurance company depending on the claim
   • Motor insurance claims
     In case of a car or bike insurance claim, the documents required for insurance claim are as follows –
   1. The claim form, duly filled and signed by the policyholder
   2. Identity proof of the policyholder 
   3. Driving license of the driver using the vehicle at the time of the accident
   4. Copy of the policy bond
   5. RC book of the insured vehicle 
   6. Tax receipt of the vehicle 
   7. Police FIR in case of third party claims or theft of the vehicle 
   8. Non-traceable certificate issued by the police authority in case of theft of the vehicle
   9. Invoice of the vehicle in case of theft or total loss or if required by the insurance company
   10. Surveyor’s report
   11. Bills of repair works issued by the garage and the payment receipts
   12. Bank details of the policyholder in case of reimbursement claims
   13. Any other document as needed by the insurance company for processing and settling the claim

These documents are necessary to buy an insurance policy or make a claim in it. You should, therefore, keep the documents handy in both these instances so that you can buy an insurance policy easily and also get the settlement of your insurance claims without any hassles.