Death Claim - Death in Singapore
Life Insurance CLAIMS
We understand that this is a difficult time. That is why we are committed to keeping the claim process as swift and convenient as we can.
What you need to know.
Note: For Dependants’ Protection Scheme, if date of death is before 01 Apr 2021, please follow steps 1 to 2 to submit your claim to us directly. If date of death is on & after 01 Apr 2021, please submit your claim to Great Eastern Life. You can refer to the FAQs for more information.
You must be the insured individual’s nominee or closest next-of-kin.
It usually takes 14 working days to process your claim once all documents are received.
For claims which require further information, we will need more time to process your claim. For such cases, we will keep you informed.
Required documents
| Claimant | Documents required |
| Spouse | Marriage certificate |
| Parent | Birth certificate of deceased |
| Child | Birth certificate of claimant |
| Sibling | Birth certificates of deceased and claimant |
Claim forms
If you are unable to submit the claim with the eSign form (above), you can choose one of the following channels to submit your claim during this period.
Your queries answered.
Death claim proceeds will be paid based on your nomination.
If you have made a nomination, we will pay one lump sum to the recipient as shown in the table below. We encourage you to make a nomination.
From 01 Sep 2009, two types of nominations can be made under the Insurance Act – Revocable & Irrevocable.
The nomination that you have previously made for your Central Provident Fund savings will not apply for your policy.
The claim proceeds will be paid to your Proper Claimant or legal representatives of your estate, in accordance with the Insurance Act.
Before making payment to a Proper Claimant, we will make reasonable enquiries to check if the deceased was married and had children. A Proper Claimant is usually the deceased's immediate family member (e.g. spouse, parent, child or sibling). The Proper Claimant can also be the executor of a will or the administrator of the deceased’s estate.
We reserve the right not to make payment to Proper Claimants under Section 61 of the Insurance Act should the following scenarios occur.
We would then request for a certified true copy of the Grant of Probate or the Grant of Letters of Administration before releasing the claim proceeds to the deceased's estate.
Your next-of-kin will need to go to the relevant authority to request for a copy of the documents to be extracted at his / her own expense. If he / she is unable to provide the relevant documents, we reserve the right to make payment to the Estate of the deceased only upon submission of a certified true copy of the Grant of Probate or the Grant of Letters of Administration.
If the deceased had left behind a Will, the representative will be the Executor appointed in the Will. If the deceased did not leave behind a Will (i.e. died intestate), the representative would be the spouse or one of the next-of-kin(s) of the deceased, and this representative is called an Administrator.
Upon receiving the Grant of Probate, the Executor distributes the deceased’s estate according to the provisions of his Will. Upon receiving the Grant of Letters of Administration, the Administrator distributes the deceased’s estate in accordance with the Intestate Succession Act (for non-Muslims) or Islamic inheritance laws (for Muslims).
Both the Grant of Probate and the Grant of Letters of Administration can be applied through a lawyer or the Public Trustee, who will draw up and submit a petition to the High Court for approval. The approval from the court may be given any time from six months onwards, depending on the complexities of the deceased's estate.
If there is a nomination, the claimant does not need to apply for the Grant of Probate or the Grant of Letters of Administration.
In the absence of a nomination, a certified true copy of the Grant of Probate or the Grant of Letters of Administration is necessary for all claims above $150,000. We may exercise our discretion to pay the first $150,000 to a Proper Claimant while waiting for the Grant to be obtained. We will then pay the balance amount to the deceased’s estate upon receiving a certified true copy of the Grant.
For claims that do not exceed $150,000, we may also, exercise our discretion to waive the Grant and pay its full amount to a Proper Claimant instead.
No, the Proper Claimant will be accountable to the deceased's estate for the money received. Payment to Proper Claimant is to enable the family to receive money quickly, for immediate needs before a certified true copy of the Grant of Probate or the Grant of Letters of Administration is obtained. The payment is part of the deceased's estate and is authorised under the Insurance Act.
It depends on the type of nomination that you have made.
The Will must be made in accordance with the Wills Act 1838 which provides for the disposition of all death benefits under the relevant policy; and specifies the particulars of that relevant policy referred to in regulation 5(3) of the Insurance (NOB) Regulations 2009.
Regulation 5(3) of the Insurance (NOB) Regulations 2009 lists the following particulars:
Please refer to the FAQs for more information.
Get in touch with us.