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If your loved one had an international life insurance policy with William Russell, we’re here to help you claim. Here’s how to make a claim.
Qian Huang
International Claims Manager
If you’ve reached this page, we understand you will be going through an incredibly difficult time. We want to reassure you that we’ll do everything we can to make your claims process as simple and straightforward as possible.
Making a life insurance claim is easy. We only need a couple of things from you, and our customer service team is on-hand to help.
If you need to inform us that a William Russell policyholder has passed away, please contact us via phone or email:
+44 1276 486 460
claims@william-russell.com
If you are informing us that a William Russell policyholder has passed away, we will need a few things from you:
It’s imperative that these documents are certified by a solicitor or public notary.
Only a solicitor or public notary can certify documents. This confirms that a legal professional has seen the documents, that they are genuine, and it allows us to contact the solicitor or notary if we have any questions.
In order to have a document certified, you will need to visit a solicitor or notary in person, bringing with you original copies of the documents. The solicitor or notary can then produce an authenticated carbon copy, which we can take as certified evidence.
If the policyholder died of an illness, we may also require additional medical reports detailing the cause of death.
Or, if the policyholder died as the result of an accident, we may require police and ambulance reports.
We will let you know what we require when it comes time to make your claim, however it’s good to have any documentation ready in order to speed up the process.
A death certificate is a document issued by a civic or national authority, signed by a doctor and countersigned by a solicitor or public notary that declares a person legally deceased.
It gives the date and time a person was pronounced dead, and their cause of death.
We need to see a copy of this death certificate in order to process your claim. When you go to collect a death certificate, it’s a good idea to ask for a couple of spares so that you have one to send us. Many authorities will also offer to email you a digital version.
Depending on the nationality of the deceased person and the country in which they died, the process of acquiring a death certificate may differ. In most cases, you will need to visit a local register office. You may also be able to complete the process online.
In some circumstances, you may need to supplement a death certificate with a letter from a doctor providing additional details into the cause of death.
Some countries and territories do not issue death certificates while other countries may provide a death certificate, but may neglect to include key details such as the date, time and cause of death.
In these cases, you may need to go to a foreign embassy to acquire a death certificate. If the policyholder was a citizen of a foreign country, you should visit the nearest embassy of their home country.
If there is an ongoing inquest into the policyholder’s cause of death, a doctor will not be able to sign a death certificate. In these circumstances, you may be issued with an interim death certificate. This is usually substantial proof for the purposes of completing a life insurance claim. However, if it appears the policyholder may have died for a reason excluded in their policy, such as a pre-existing condition, we may need to wait until the inquest has concluded.
If you know that the deceased person had a life insurance policy with William Russell at the time of their death, you do not need to provide any documentation related to their policy. We will have everything saved on our end.
Submitting a claim form is simple, and we will always try to take care of as much of the process as possible to save you the burden.
As well as the documents mentioned above, we’ll need to see documentation relating to each of the named beneficiaries on the deceased’s life insurance policy.
This includes:
You must make sure that these documents are certified by a solicitor or notary.
This is typically proven with a letter from a solicitor or notary. It should confirm the identity of the beneficiary and state that they were last seen alive on a date near to the time the claim was submitted.
In order to acquire this document, it’s recommended that beneficiaries visit a solicitor or notary in person, bringing with them a document confirming their identity such as a passport. Some solicitors may charge a fee for this service.
If the policyholder had written a will, we will also need to know about this.
If you aren’t sure about a will or final testament, you should speak to the solicitor of the policyholder.
After you have submitted your claim and supporting evidence, our customer service team will handle your case. If we have any further questions or require additional documentation, we’ll let you know.
During the claims process, we will submit your claim and documentation to our underwriters, Allianz. In some circumstances, they may ask for additional supporting evidence. During the course of your correspondence, they may reach out to you, either to ask further questions or to let you know the outcome of your claim.
We understand that losing a loved one is an incredibly emotional and stressful time, which is why we aim to make this stage of the process simple and straightforward. We’ll take care of as much of the admin as possible, so you have one less thing to worry about.
We must receive your claim within 12 months of the policyholder’s death, as stated on their death certificate.
If you do not open a claim within 12 months of the policyholder’s death, we may not be able to process your claim.
Once a claim has been processed, we will deposit the shares of the cash benefit into the bank account(s) of the beneficiaries named in the policy.
Typically we will always pay the benefit to the named beneficiary even if there are conflicting instructions in the will. This is why it is important to make sure your beneficiary choices are always up to date.
As the policyholder, you have the right to claim the full benefit from your life insurance policy early if you have been diagnosed with a terminal condition and told that you have less than 12 months to live.
This will negate the terms set out in your policy where you allocated beneficiaries of your benefit after death. Instead, your benefit will be paid to you directly.
To file a claim for early payment of your benefit, we will need to see a note from your doctor confirming your diagnosis and their estimation of the prognosis of your illness. In some circumstances, we may ask you to undergo a second examination with a different medical professional to confirm the prognosis.
To file a claim for early payment of your benefit, please contact us on +44 1276 486460 or claims@william-russell.com and we will send you a form to complete.
If you have any further questions related to your life insurance policy or the claims process, our customer service team will be glad to help. Otherwise, we hope you find the answers to your questions here:
We aim to settle all claims within 30 days, although some claims may take longer if the circumstances of the death are complicated.
The funds will be deposited directly into the bank accounts of each named beneficiary.
Anyone can begin the claims process, so long as they have access to the policyholder’s death certificate.
However, do bear in mind that we will only pay out benefits to the named beneficiaries or, in the absence of beneficiaries, to the estate of the deceased.
There’s no way to know for sure until the claim is settled. If you are a beneficiary, we will reach out to let you know.
Hopefully, your loved one will have informed you of their life insurance arrangements before they passed away, or mentioned it in their will.
If you’re not sure, you may want to look through their paperwork as we will have sent them policy documents and renewal reminders.
The best way to be sure is to contact us – we’ll gladly let you know if your loved one had a policy with us.
If you’re not sure who your loved one had a life insurance policy with, the Association of British Insurers (or a similar organisation in your home country) may be able to help.
Anyone taking out a life insurance policy must name at least one beneficiary. However, sometimes the beneficiary will have passed away before being able to accept the benefit.
In these cases, the next of kin (a spouse or child) will receive the benefit. If this option is also not possible, the benefit will be given to the policyholder’s estate.
At William Russell, we cover suicide as a cause of death after someone has held a policy with us for one year.
If the policyholder dies by suicide in the first 12 months of their policy, we will not be able to pay out their benefit.
Note: If the benefit amount is increased, the 12 month exclusion shall apply from the date of the increase, but only for the amount of the increase.
When the policyholder took out a life insurance policy with William Russell, we will have outlined certain exemptions (causes of death not covered by their policy). This often includes certain pre-existing conditions, i.e. illnesses they were known to have, or had in the past, at the time they took out the policy.
If their death was as a result of one of these conditions, we will unfortunately not be able to settle the claim.
We do our best to settle all life insurance claims, however there are some situations that we cannot cover. This will have been made clear to the policyholder at the time they took out their policy and may include:
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At William Russell, we have over 30 years’ experience providing international life insurance exclusively to expats.
Our policy is made especially for people who live and work abroad, and offers up to US$2 million in benefits after you’re gone.
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