Ahmedabad plane crash: Life insurers speed up claim settlement for victims

Business Standard

13-06-2025

Major life insurance companies, including Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance, and HDFC Life, are expediting insurance claim settlements for policyholders affected by the Air India crash in Ahmedabad, to provide them financial relief.
Expressing grief over the deaths of on-board passengers, crew members of Air India flight AI 171, and people on the ground killed in the crash, LIC announced several concessions to mitigate hardships for the claimants of LIC policies.
On Thursday, Air India's flight AI 171, bound for Gatwick from Ahmedabad, crashed shortly after take-off outside the airport.
'In lieu of death certificates, any evidence in government records of death of the policyholder due to the plane crash or any compensation paid by Central/State Government or airline authorities will be accepted as proof of death. All efforts will be taken to ensure that the claimants are reached out to and claims are settled expeditiously for the affected families,' LIC said.
Similarly, Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance has established a dedicated special claims settlement desk to prioritise the processing of death and disability claims for its customers impacted by the tragedy.
'To simplify the process, Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance has listed a minimal documentation process that nominees, legal heirs, or policyholders need to submit to process their claims. In case the death certificate is not immediately available, a certificate issued by the municipal authority or hospital will also be accepted to initiate the claim process, along with nominee KYC and bank mandate,' the company said.
According to HDFC Life, a claim can be initiated by nominees or legal heirs of policyholders by simply providing proof of death issued by the local government, police, or hospitals.