LIC Death Claim: Process, Documents and the Correct Form Numbers

Step 1 — Intimate the claim at the servicing branch

Start at the LIC branch that services the policy (the branch named on the policy bond). Give a written intimation of the death with the policy number, the life assured's name, and the date and cause of death. Take a stamped acknowledgment. The date of this intimation matters: under IRDAI rules, if LIC delays payment beyond the prescribed timelines, penal interest runs from the date of intimation — so intimate early and in writing, even before you have every document ready.

Lost the policy number? Visit any LIC branch with the life assured's details. The branch can search for policies using the customer's PAN and help you identify every policy in force — a person often holds more than one.

Step 2 — Know whether yours is an "early" claim

LIC splits death claims into two streams:

• Non-early claims — the policy had been in force for three years or more before the death. These follow a shorter document list and a faster track.
• Early claims — death occurred within three years of the policy starting (or being revived). LIC investigates these before paying, so more certificates are required and the process takes longer.

The timelines set by IRDAI's Master Circular (September 2024) are:

• Claims not requiring investigation: settle within 15 days.
• Claims requiring investigation: settle within 45 days.
• If LIC exceeds these, it owes penal interest at the Bank Rate + 2% on the claim amount for the delay, counted from the date of intimation.

(Older guides quote 30 days and "up to 90 days plus 30" — those come from earlier regulation text. The 15-day and 45-day figures above are the current operative ones.)

Step 3 — The forms, with the correct numbers

These are the form numbers as per LIC's claims material. If a website or agent quotes different numbers for the same forms, trust this mapping:

• Form 3783 / 3783A — Claim Form A: the claimant's statement. Required in every death claim. Affix a revenue stamp where the form asks for one.
• Form 3801 — Discharge Voucher: the receipt the claimant signs for the payment; submitted with the claim.
• Form 3756 — Indemnity bond for a lost policy bond: needed only if the original policy bond is lost, as part of the duplicate-bond process.

Additional forms for early claims (investigation stream)

• Form 3784 — Claim Form B: certificate by the medical attendant who treated the life assured during the last illness.
• Form 3816 — Claim Form B1: certificate of hospital treatment.
• Claim Form B2 (medical attendant who treated the life assured for earlier illnesses) — referred to by name; LIC will give you the current format at the branch.
• Form 3785 — Claim Form C: certificate of identity and of burial or cremation, signed by a person of known identity who attended.
• Form 3787 — Claim Form E: employer's certificate, if the life assured was employed.

Step 4 — Documents to submit with the forms

• Death certificate (original for verification, with copies)
• The original policy bond — or Form 3756 and the duplicate-bond route if it is lost
• Claimant's identity and address proof, and PAN
• Claimant's bank details — a cancelled cheque or bank statement for NEFT payment
• Assignment / nomination details as recorded on the policy (the branch will confirm who the recorded nominee is)
• For early claims: treatment records and the B-series certificates listed above

If there is no nominee on the policy

Where no nomination survives, LIC pays against proof of title — the claimant must establish their legal right to the policy money, typically through legal evidence such as a succession certificate or other title documents the branch specifies for the case. Expect this to take longer than a nominee claim, and take legal advice early if the family situation is complex. A nominee claim, by contrast, needs no such proof of title.

Step 5 — Payment and follow-up

1. Submit the complete set at the servicing branch and collect a dated acknowledgment listing what you submitted.
2. For early claims, an LIC official may conduct an investigation, which can include verifying treatment records and the claim circumstances. Cooperate and keep copies of everything asked and given.
3. Payment is made by NEFT to the claimant's bank account after the signed discharge voucher (Form 3801) is processed.
4. If the 15-day or 45-day timeline passes without payment or a written explanation, escalate in writing to the branch and then to LIC's grievance cell / IRDAI's Bima Bharosa portal, citing your intimation date — that is the date the penal interest clock runs from.