How to file an LIC death, maturity or surrender claim

Last reviewed: 1 September 2026.

LIC is India's largest life insurer, with tens of crore policies in force and annual claim and benefit payouts of well over ₹1 lakh crore. IRDAI's Handbook on Indian Insurance Statistics 2023-24 records LIC settling about 8 lakh of the 9.5 lakh death-claim policies settled industry-wide within 30 days in FY24 — the largest claims volume in the business. The small residue of disputed or delayed claims is where the illustrative case below lives — and where this guide is written for.

LIC's three main claim types:

1. Death claim — when life assured dies during the policy term. Sum assured + bonuses + (if applicable) accident/disability rider + interest under §45A IRDAI rule for delay.
2. Maturity claim — when the policy completes its term. Maturity sum assured + final additional bonus + loyalty addition.
3. Surrender claim — policyholder voluntarily exits before maturity. Reduced “surrender value” — typically 30-90% of premiums paid depending on the year of surrender and product type.
4. Survival benefit — money-back / endowment-with-payouts plans (Jeevan Anand Money Back, Komal Jeevan, Bal Vidya, etc.) pay periodic survival amounts. Filed by the policyholder via discharge form.

Key legal anchors:

• Insurance Act, 1938 — §45 (the most important): no policy can be repudiated after 3 years from risk-commencement / revival on grounds other than fraud. After 3 years a policy is “incontestable” except for proven fraud. Even within 3 years, repudiation must be in writing with reasons and proof.
• Insurance Act, 1938 — §45A (per IRDAI Master Circular 2024): if claim settlement is delayed beyond 30 days from completion of all formalities, insurer pays interest at 2% above the prevailing RBI bank rate for the delay period.
• Life Insurance Corporation Act, 1956 — establishes LIC; classifies LIC as a corporation owned by the Government of India.
• IRDAI (Protection of Policyholders' Interests) Regulations, 2017 — Reg. 14 — claim settlement TAT: 30 days for death claims after receipt of the last document (where investigation is warranted: within 90 days, then 30 days to settle); maturity and survival benefits on or before the due date; free-look cancellation, surrender and refund requests within 15 days. Delay beyond the limit attracts interest at 2% above bank rate.
• IRDAI Master Circular on Health & Life Insurance 2024 — consolidated norms.
• RTI Act, 2005 — LIC is a public authority under §2(h)(d)(i) (a body owned/controlled by Government); confirmed in RBI v. Jayantilal Mistry, (2016) 3 SCC 525.

Within 7-15 days of death, gather:

• Death certificate issued by the Municipal Corporation / Gram Panchayat (the legal certificate; not the hospital one alone).
• Hospital records — discharge summary, last prescription, ICU notes, treating doctor's certificate of cause of death (especially for medical-cause deaths).
• FIR + post-mortem report — for accidental, unnatural, or suspicious deaths (suicide, drowning, road accident, electrocution, snake-bite, etc.).
• Original policy bond (or duplicate; see Step 5).

• Online intimation: licindia.in → “Customer Services” → “Claim Intimation” → policy number + DOB → email + mobile OTP → “Death Claim” → upload death certificate.
• By phone: 022-6827-6827 (LIC national customer care). Or SMS LICHELP to 9222492224.
• At branch: policy-servicing branch (printed on the bond) is preferred but any LIC branch can accept.

The branch will hand you the form. Filled and signed by the nominee (or by legal heirs with Succession Certificate / Letters of Administration if no nominee was registered).

• Personal details of nominee.
• Cause + date + place of death.
• Relationship to life assured.
• Bank account details (with cancelled cheque).
• Declaration of truth.

Standard checklist for a normal (non-early) death claim:

• Form 3783 (claim form, signed).
• Original policy bond.
• Death certificate (municipality).
• Hospital records + medical certificate of cause of death.
• Nominee's Aadhaar + PAN.
• Cancelled cheque / bank passbook of the nominee's account.
• Age proof of life assured (only if age was not “admitted” at policy stage — check the bond).
• NEFT mandate form (bank account particulars with proof).

• Original policy bond lost. Need: (a) Indemnity bond (Form 3756) on stamp paper, (b) Newspaper advertisement in one English + one local-language daily + 30-day waiting, © affidavit of loss. Branch issues a duplicate policy bond, then claim is processed.
• No nominee registered. Need: Succession Certificate from civil court (3-9 months) or Letters of Administration / Probate. For sums up to ₹2 lakh some branches accept an Indemnity Bond + No-Objection from legal heirs.
• Nominee details outdated. If nominee changed addresses / phone but not informed LIC, submit a fresh KYC + sworn affidavit.
• Bank account not Aadhaar-seeded. LIC's NEFT pipe insists on a seeded account; otherwise the credit fails. Get the bank to seed Aadhaar first.
• Death within 3 years of policy commencement (early death). LIC mandatorily investigates: (a) verifies medical history declared on proposal form, (b) cross-checks with hospital records, © sometimes interviews neighbours / employer / family doctor. The IRDAI outer limit is 90 days for the investigation plus 30 days to settle, but in practice files take 45-180 days. §45 of the Insurance Act protects the nominee — repudiation is permitted only on proved fraud / mis-statement within these 3 years.
• Suicide. Standard policies pay full sum assured for suicide after 1 year of policy commencement / revival; suicide within 1 year — only premiums refunded.

Branch issues a claim registration number (CR No.). Track on:

• licindia.in → “Customer Portal” → “Claim Status”.
• The branch helpdesk where you submitted the claim (quote the CR No.).

• Branch's Senior Branch Manager sanctions normal claims up to ₹5 lakh.
• Beyond that → Divisional Manager sanctions.
• Payment via NEFT to nominee's account, typically 5-7 days after sanction.

If settlement is delayed beyond 30 days from the day all documents were submitted, LIC pays interest at 2% above bank rate for the delay. Many citizens don't know this and accept payment without interest. Always ask in writing: “Has §45A interest been computed?”

The servicing branch sends the discharge form (Form 3825) by post to your registered address — LIC intimates maturity about two months in advance and asks for the discharged receipt at least a month before the due date. If you've moved, intimate the new address well in advance.

• Sign the discharge form in your own hand (witness signature for some products).
• Attach: original policy bond, cancelled cheque, PAN, Aadhaar, NEFT mandate form (bank account particulars with proof).
• Submit at policy-servicing branch (or any branch).

• Maturity payout = Sum Assured + Final Additional Bonus + Loyalty Addition (or Reversionary Bonus depending on plan).
• NEFT to your account on or before the maturity date if the form is submitted a month early — in practice within 15 days of complete document submission (IRDAI norm).

+-----------------------------------+--------------------------------------+
| Death claim — Form 3783           | FREE. At branch or download from     |
|                                   | licindia.in.                         |
+-----------------------------------+--------------------------------------+
| Maturity claim — Form 3825        | FREE. Intimated ~2 months before     |
| (Discharge Voucher)               | maturity; pay on the due date.       |
+-----------------------------------+--------------------------------------+
| Surrender claim — branch form     | FREE. At branch.                     |
+-----------------------------------+--------------------------------------+
| Indemnity bond for lost policy —  | Stamp paper ₹100-500 (state-wise).   |
| Form 3756                         |                                      |
+-----------------------------------+--------------------------------------+
| Newspaper notice for lost bond    | ₹500-2,000 depending on city + paper |
+-----------------------------------+--------------------------------------+
| Succession Certificate            | Court fee ~3-7% of asset value       |
| (when no nominee)                 | (state-wise). Time: 3-9 months.      |
+-----------------------------------+--------------------------------------+
| TAT — death claim                 | 30 days after last document          |
+-----------------------------------+--------------------------------------+
| TAT — maturity claim              | On or before the due date            |
+-----------------------------------+--------------------------------------+
| TAT — surrender claim             | 10-15 days                           |
+-----------------------------------+--------------------------------------+
| Interest u/§45A IRDAI Master      | 2% above prevailing bank rate, on    |
| Circular for delay > 30 days      | delayed amount, from Day 31 onwards. |
+-----------------------------------+--------------------------------------+
| Insurance Ombudsman               | FREE. cioins.co.in. 90-day case.     |
|                                   | Award up to ₹50 lakh (since 2021).   |
+-----------------------------------+--------------------------------------+
| RTI to PIO LIC of India           | ₹10 IPO / DD. BPL = free.            |
| (any divisional / zonal office)   |                                      |
+-----------------------------------+--------------------------------------+

• Original policy bond lost — without indemnity bond + newspaper notice + duplicate-bond process, claim is held.
• Nominee details outdated / nominee deceased / no nominee — needs Succession Certificate or Letters of Administration.
• Bank account not Aadhaar-seeded — NEFT credit fails silently.
• Survival certificate outdated — for survival-benefit policies, the periodic survival certificate from a magistrate / gazetted officer must be current.
• Death within 3 years — mandatory early-death investigation; can take 45-180 days. Insurance Act §45 is your shield against unfair repudiation.
• Concealment of pre-existing illness — if LIC proves the policyholder concealed a known illness at proposal stage, claim can be repudiated within 3 years. After 3 years, only proven fraud bars the claim.
• FIR pending in suspicious death — LIC waits for police closure / chargesheet before sanctioning.
• Address mismatch on KYC — Aadhaar address differs from proposal-form address; nominee must explain with affidavit + utility bill.
• Claim form filled by an “agent” not the nominee — branches sometimes flag this for re-verification.
• Branch oversight / file misplaced — the illustrative case above. The single most fixable cause via RTI.
• Joint policy with sole-payee dispute — partner / second life issues; often goes to Ombudsman.

The SBM at the policy-servicing branch is the immediate authority. Walk in with all your documents, claim number, and chronology. Most “missed file” issues unblock at this rung.

Each LIC division (113 divisions across 8 zones) has a Claims Section with a Manager (Claims). Write a formal letter with: policy number, claim number, all submission dates, branch name, your demand. Email the Divisional Manager (the division's official email ID is on the branch locator at licindia.in).

• Phone: 022-6827-6827 (national customer care)
• SMS LICHELP to 9222492224
• Email: the Customer Relations Cell grievance IDs listed at licindia.in → “Customer Service” → “Grievance Registration”

• licindia.in → “Customer Service” → “Grievance Registration” → register with policy number + OTP → file complaint.
• SLA: 15 days. Tracked online.

https://pgportal.gov.in → ministry “Department of Financial Services” → “Life Insurance Corporation of India”. Higher visibility — often gets routed to Zonal Manager.

https://bimabharosa.irdai.gov.in → register → file against LIC. IRDAI forwards; LIC must respond in 15 days.

The decisive forum.

• https://www.cioins.co.in → find your centre on the Council's live directory (Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Delhi, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kochi, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Noida, Patna, Pune, Thane).
• Pre-condition: 30 days must have passed since written complaint to LIC, OR LIC must have rejected.
• File the complaint online at cioins.co.in or on the Council's specimen complaint form, with all evidence.
• Free. Hearing within 30-90 days.
• Award up to ₹50 lakh (raised from ₹30 lakh in 2021) — final and binding on LIC.
• Award must be honoured within 30 days.

See the dedicated guide: How to file an insurance complaint — IRDAI + Ombudsman process.

LIC is a public authority under §2(h) RTI Act 2005 — a statutory corporation wholly owned by the Government of India under the LIC Act, 1956. The Supreme Court's reasoning in Reserve Bank of India v. Jayantilal Mistry, (2016) 3 SCC 525 applies to all such bodies: any body substantially financed or owned by Government is a public authority, and confidentiality cannot be claimed for information held in fiduciary relationship if larger public interest is involved. Every LIC Divisional Office has a designated PIO; Zonal Offices have a First Appellate Authority.

RTI helps here when:

• Your claim file is stuck without explanation beyond the 30-day TAT (the illustrative case above). RTI questions to ask: (1) date of receipt of claim, (2) name + designation + email of dealing officer, (3) status / stage of file, (4) date of completion of investigation (if early-death), (5) basis on which payment is being delayed, (6) §45A interest computation as on date.
• The Senior Branch Manager / Divisional Manager has signed a sanction but payment has not credited — RTI for the cheque-issuance / NEFT log.
• You suspect arbitrary repudiation — RTI for the basis of repudiation + medical opinion / investigator's report that LIC relied on (you can use it in Ombudsman).
• For comparable cases — RTI to LIC for similar early-death / similar-cause claims settled by that branch in the last 12 months. Aggregate data helps Ombudsman see a pattern.
• Your sub-agent / development officer is unresponsive — RTI to LIC for officer's posting, performance, complaints.

RTI does NOT help here when:

• You want LIC to decide your claim — RTI gives information, not adjudication. The claim itself is decided by LIC under contract; the appeal is Ombudsman, not RTI.
• You want LIC's underwriting algorithm / actuarial reserves — commercial information; routinely denied under §8(1)(d).
• You want another nominee's claim file — third-party personal information bar under §8(1)(j).
• The amount in dispute is large and you're past Ombudsman jurisdiction (above ₹50 lakh) — go to Consumer Forum / Civil Court instead.
• You're within the 30-day TAT — wait. Premature RTI gets a “claim under processing” reply that wastes your fee.

For the citizen, the order is: branch SBM → Divisional Office → Bima Bharosa → Insurance Ombudsman. RTI is the lateral lever — it doesn't replace the Ombudsman, it unblocks the file so the Ombudsman doesn't even become necessary. In the illustrative case above, the RTI made the Ombudsman unnecessary; in others, the RTI gives the Ombudsman the documents needed to win.

Q. Can I file a death claim at any LIC branch or only at the servicing branch?
Any LIC branch can accept the claim documents. The file then transfers to the policy-servicing branch. Submit at the nearest branch and ask for an acknowledgement copy with the claim number.

Q. The original policy bond was destroyed in a flood / fire. What now?
File FIR / Police complaint (in case of fire/theft) or affidavit of loss (in case of natural calamity). Then submit indemnity bond (Form 3756) + newspaper notice (1 English + 1 local-language daily) + 30-day waiting → branch issues duplicate bond → claim proceeds.

Q. The nominee on the policy passed away before the life-assured. Who gets the claim?
The “alternate nominee” if registered. Else the legal heirs as per personal succession law (Hindu Succession Act, Indian Succession Act, Muslim personal law) — typically requires Succession Certificate from civil court.

Q. LIC has held my early-death claim for 14 months citing “investigation”. Is that legal?
Investigation is permitted, but not indefinitely. IRDAI's outer limit is 90 days for the investigation plus 30 days to settle. Beyond that, escalate via Bima Bharosa + RTI for status. Insurance Act §45 bars repudiation after 3 years from risk-commencement on grounds other than fraud.

Q. What is the difference between “Sum Assured” and total payout?
Sum Assured is the basic amount. Total payout = Sum Assured + Vested Bonuses + Final Additional Bonus + Loyalty Addition (if any) + Interest under §45A (if delayed). Endowment plans typically pay 1.5x-2.5x of sum assured at maturity.

Q. I want to surrender mid-term. How much will I get?
Depends on (a) product type, (b) years premium paid (minimum 2-3 years for most products to have any surrender value), © “guaranteed surrender value” vs “special surrender value” — LIC pays whichever is higher. Typical: 30% of premiums paid (year 3) → 60-90% (year 10+).

Q. Tax implications?
Death claim — fully tax-free under §10(10D) of Income Tax Act for life-assured's nominee. Maturity claim — tax-free if premium ≤ 10% of sum assured (15% for disabled life), else taxable. Surrender — tax-free in same conditions; taxable if surrender within 2 years (with 80C reversal).