While buying term insurance, you need to ensure that you have the proper documentation for the insurer to offer the required coverage. Even during the process of claim settlement, you will be asked for proper documents supporting the claim raised, details of the claimant, and the nature of the death of the life assured. The reason for the need for extensive documentation is basically to offset the financial risk undertaken by the insurance company in insuring the policyholder.
What Are The Documents Required To Purchase Term Life Insurance?
The standard set of documents required for term insurance across all the insurance providers includes income proof, identity proof, medical report (if policyholders are 45 and above), and proof of residence. Let’s look at each of these in detail to help you identify which documents you can furnish to satisfy the requirements of the insurance company.
| Official Identity Proofs |
- Passport
- Voter’s ID
- Aadhaar Card
- Job card issued by NREGA
- PAN Card
- Form 60
- National Population Register
|
| Valid Address Proof |
- Utility bills including electricity, postpaid phone, piped gas, and water bills, no older than 2 months
- Pension Payment Orders (PPO) of the retired individuals
- Municipal Tax Receipt or Property Tax Receipt
- Allotment of Accommodation letter from the employer authorized by the State or Central Government, PSUs, financial institutions, commercial banks, etc.
|
| Income Proof |
Salaried Individuals |
- Last 3 months’ bank statement with details of salary credited
- Last 2 years’ Income Tax Returns
- Recent Form 16
|
| Self-Employed Individuals |
- Last 2 years’ Income Tax Returns
- Computation of income generated
- If computation is not available, last 3 years’ Income Tax Returns
- Last 2 years’ audited balance sheet and profit loss account by a certified CA
|
| Medical Proof |
- Past and recent medical records
- Results of medical tests allocated by the insurer
|
Significance Of The Documents Required For Term Insurance
Here’s the significance of the aforementioned documents:
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Proof of Identity - This provides verified evidence of the age of the term insurance buyer. The age of the buyer is an important factor in deciding premium rates.
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Address Proof - These are required to validate if the term insurance buyer is a citizen of the country or not.
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Income Proof - Possibly the most crucial aspect, income proofs are what the insurer uses to decide premiums and if the as0sured coverage can be offered to the buyer.
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Medical Proof - The insurer needs to factor in your health risks and previous medical history to establish your insurability and determine the financial risk they are undertaking to offer you insurance coverage.
How To Buy Term Insurance Plan?
The procedure to purchase term life insurance for yourself is fairly straightforward. You can either visit the insurance company’s nearest branch or use online methods such as the insurer’s website or online aggregators like Policybazaar. The latter allows you to compare term life insurance plans from multiple insurers and get insights into their respective features and the cheapest quotes.
You can go to the Term Insurance link in their respective websites and insert your contact details to start the purchase. On inserting the required fields, you will be asked to submit the documents required for term insurance. Therefore, you should keep scanned copies of the abovementioned identity, income, address proofs handy. Once you submit the documents, the premiums are calculated. Upon successful premium payment, the policy coverage starts.
