What documents are needed to claim life insurance

Every insurer’s claim pack looks slightly different, but they are all asking for the same four categories of evidence: proof the event happened, proof it is the event the policy covers, proof the policy was in force, and proof you are the person entitled to be paid.

Read the pack once before you start filling anything in. A claim form that comes back with an unsigned authority or an unwitnessed identity document goes to the back of a queue, and the fortnight you lose is a fortnight nobody gets back.

One practical note before the list: send certified copies, never originals. A solicitor, a Justice of the Peace, a registered legal executive or a notary can certify a copy for you. Originals sent into a claims department have a habit of taking a long time to come home.

Always required

• The insurer’s claim form, completed and signed by the person entitled to claim. It asks for the deceased’s details, the cause of death, the treating doctors and the bank account for payment.
• A death certificate. The official certificate issued after registration is what settles a claim; the interim document from the funeral director is usually enough to open the file.
• Proof of the claimant’s identity and address, certified — typically a passport or New Zealand driver licence plus a recent utility bill or bank statement.
• An authority signed by the claimant or executor allowing the insurer to obtain medical records from the deceased’s GP, hospital and specialists.

Required in particular situations

These are the details that decide whether the cover does what you expected. Read them before you compare on price.

• Whether the insurer will accept certified copies by email or requires physical documents by post.
• Whether the claim form must be witnessed, and by whom.
• Whether the bank account named for payment is in the claimant’s own name — payments to third-party accounts create delays.
• Whether the insurer needs identity verification for every beneficiary where there is more than one.
• Whether an older policy has an assignment or a lender’s interest recorded against it.
• Whether the deceased held more than one policy — each insurer needs its own complete pack.

Every New Zealand insurer writes how life insurance claims work to its own wording, and the words are where the money is. Two policies that look identical on price can pay very differently when it matters. Closing that gap is the entire job of an adviser.

• An adviser knows each insurer’s pack and will tell you exactly what to gather before you start, rather than after a rejection letter.
• They can certify the file is complete before it is submitted, which removes the most common source of delay.
• They hold the policy history — ownership, nominations, special terms — which is often faster to get from them than from the insurer.
• Where several policies exist across different insurers, they run all the claims in parallel rather than sequentially.

There are three ways to buy life cover in New Zealand, and they are not equivalent. You can buy direct from one insurer, which means you see one product range and one underwriting appetite. You can buy through your bank, which usually means a single insurer’s product sold under the bank’s brand, often with narrower definitions. Or you can go through an adviser, who quotes several insurers at once and is required to put your interests first.

The premium you pay is the same either way. Insurers build adviser commission into their pricing whether or not an adviser is involved, so going direct does not get you a discount — it just removes the person whose job is to argue your corner at application and at claim time.

• An adviser can see which insurer is currently taking your health history on standard terms, and which one will load or exclude it.
• An adviser can structure cover across two insurers if that produces a better outcome than putting everything with one.
• An adviser handles the underwriting back-and-forth, and is the person who chases the claim when a family is least able to.
• An adviser has to document why the recommendation suits you, which is a written record you can hold them to.

We are a referral service, not an insurer. We do not quote premiums and we do not sell policies. What we do is put you in front of one licensed New Zealand adviser who can compare the market properly.

1. 1

   You tell us what you are looking at

   The form takes about a minute. Nobody asks for your medical history on a web form — that conversation happens with the adviser, properly, and only once you have decided to proceed.

2. 2

   An adviser calls you

   A licensed New Zealand adviser talks through your situation: who depends on you, what you owe, what you already have in place, and what you are actually worried about.

3. 3

   They compare the market

   The adviser quotes across the major insurers, checks which of them will take your health history on the best terms, and puts the options side by side in writing.

4. 4

   You decide, in your own time

   There is no obligation and no cost to you. If the answer is that you already have enough cover, a good adviser will tell you that.