You must check and see whether or not there is availability of guarantee of return, what the lock in period is, details of premium to be paid, what would be implications of premium default, what the revival conditions are what the policy terms are, what are the charges that would be deducted, would loan be available etc.

The disclosures made in a proposal are the basis for underwriting a policy and therefore any wrong statements or disclosures can lead to denial of a claim.

In case of certain proposals, depending upon the age of entry, age at maturity, sum assured, family history and personal history, special medical reports may be necessary for consideration of a risk. E.g. if the proposer is overweight, special reports like Electro Cardiogram, Glucose Tolerance test etc could be required, while for underweight proposers, X-ray of the chest and lungs with reports could be required.

After premiums are paid for a certain defined period or beyond and if subsequent premiums are not paid, the sum assured is reduced to a proportionate sum, which bears the same ratio to the full sum assured as the number of premiums actually paid bears to the total number originally stipulated in the policy. For example, if sum assured is 1 lakh and the total number of premiums is payable is 20 (20 years policy, mode of premium is assumed yearly) and default occurs after 10 yearly premiums are paid, the policy acquires the paid up value of 50,000/-. Paid up Value = No. of Premiums Paid / No. of Premiums Payable X S.A=10/20 X 100000 = 50000/-. This means that the policy is effective as before except that from the date the 11th premium was due, the sum assured is 50,000/- instead of original 1,00,000/-. To this sum assured the bonus already vested (accrued) before the policy lapsed, is also added. Example if the bonus accrued up to the date of lapse is 35,000/-, the total paid up value is 50000 + 35000 = 85000.

Surrender Value is allowed as a percentage of this paid up value. Surrender value is calculated as per the surrender value factor, which depends on the premiums paid and elapsed duration.

If the policy conditions permit grant of loan, loan is sanctioned as a percentage of the Surrender Value.

Usually the Insurance Company will send intimation attaching the discharge voucher to the policy holder at least 2 to 3 months in advance of the date of maturity of the policy intimating the claim amount payable. The policy bond and the discharge voucher duly signed and witnessed are to be returned to the insurance company immediately so that the insurance company will be able to make payment. If the policy is assigned in favour of any other person the claim amount will be paid only to the assignee who will give the discharge.

Settlement option means the facility made available to the policy holder to receive the maturity proceeds in a defined manner (the terms and conditions are specified in advance at the inception of the contract).

The basic documents that are generally required are death certificate, claim form and policy bond, Other documents such as medical attendant's certificate, hospital certificate, employer's certificate, police inquest report, post mortem report etc could be called for, as applicable. The claim requirements are usually disclosed in the policy bond.

Surrender value in Unit Linked Policies is usually expressed as fund value less the surrender charge.