The death of the insured needs to be informed to the insurance company either directly or through the insurance agent who sold the policy to the insured. Contact details are usually given on the insurer's official website. The insurance companies have death claim forms that need to be filled up and submitted to them along with a list of documents.

After the claims form and the documents mentioned above have been submitted, the insurance company will carry out its own survey and follow its underwriting process. Once that gets over, the insurance company pays the nominee the sum assured.

If the insurer is satisfied with a claim, it pays the settlement; if there is doubt, the insurer may ask the claimant to submit more documents.

• Returns on Whole Life Policy vs. Inflation Calculator
  Do the returns on my whole life policy beat inflation?
    
• Should I Continue My Whole life Policy?
  Use this calculator to find out if you should continue your whole life policy or invest the premium amount saved in other avenues.
    
• Endowment vs. Whole Life Comparator
  Use this comparator to compare a whole life insurance policy and an endowment policy.
    
• Insurance Planner
  Use this calculator to find out how much life insurance you need.