Life insurance claims

For some insurance companies, there'll be a beneficiary listed on the policy. This is the person (or people, if multiple are listed) who'll be paid out the insured sum of the policy when the insured person passes away.

At Chubb Life, we don’t have beneficiaries on life insurance policies. Instead, the payment is made either to any surviving joint policy owners, or in accordance with the policy holder’s will. A will is a legal document which clearly details how you want your assets, or any other meaningful items, to be distributed when you pass away. A will has an executor listed on it. This is the person who's been nominated to manage the estate of the deceased on their behalf.

Most people will encounter a lot of changes throughout their life - you might welcome a child into the world, get married or invest in a property, for example. Detailing these personal circumstances on a will ensures your final wishes are honoured and your family are taken care of when you pass away.

To summarise: writing a will is a way to make sure that your financial legacy is protected and passed down to your nominated loved ones.

Although it is possible to name multiple people on a will, there are some cases where none of these people survive the insured person.

If this is the case, the policy payout will be made to the estate of the insured person and paid to any surviving relatives, in accordance with New Zealand law. If there are no surviving relatives, the insurance payout and the proceeds of the estate will be gifted to the crown.

A claim can be made on a life insurance policy in the event of the insured person’s death or diagnosis with a terminal illness. If the policy also includes an optional critical illness benefit, a claim can also be made on a wider range of illnesses or events.

You can check out your policy wording for more information on when you can make a claim under your life insurance policy.

In most cases, the owner of the insurance policy is the insured person or a trusted person, like a spouse or close family member. The owner/s of the policy is able to make changes, premium payments, upgrades, decrease cover or cancel the policy.

If the insured person dies within two years of the life insurance policy being taken out, the insurance company may investigate whether the insured person was honest about any pre-existing medical conditions when applying for insurance cover. If it is found that the insured person was acting in a dishonest or fraudulent way, the insurance company has the right to deny the claim.

A claim on a life insurance policy can also be denied if the insured person commits suicide within the first 13 months of the policy’s start date. For more information, refer to your policy wording document.

This is the grant by the High Court which allows the executor(s) of the deceased’s will to act on their behalf. Once granted, the executor(s) have the authority to handle the deceased’s assets and liabilities in accordance with their will. In order to do this, the executors need to complete a probate application form, which is then approved by the Registrar of the High Court. This is usually done through a lawyer, Public Trust or a statutory Trustee Company.

An application for a Letter of Administration is made if the person who has passed has not left a will, or their will can’t be authorised. This may be the case if the will’s executor has also passed. Once the application has been received, the High Court may grant the nominated person to administer the deceased’s estate on their behalf.

In some cases, you’ll need to provide a probate or letter of administration when making a claim.

If you still have any questions, the Chubb Life team would be happy to help. Just get in touch with the Chubb Life team who'll be able to answer any of your queries.