Settlement of Death Claim

Settlement of Claims in Safe Deposit Locker and Articles in Safe Custody by Deceased Customer

(a) Settlement of Claim Upto ₹1 lakh: To avoid inconvenience and undue hardship to the common person where the aggregate amount payable, including accrued interest, as on the date of the application is upto ₹1 lakh where a person is missing and declaration / certificate from the court is not produced, a copy of the First Information Report (FIR) and non-traceable report issued by police authorities shall be obtained in lieu of death certificate or an order from a competent court declaring the civil death of the account holder for settling the claim.

(b) In case, the balance amount together with interest on the date of submission of application comes more than ₹1 lakh then the claimant must produce declaration / certificate from the competent court for settlement of the claim.

1. The Bank (in such cases) shall settle the claims on production of the following documents:

1. FIR with the Police
2. Final / Non traceable Report issued by police authority stating that the persons is not traceable
3. The documents mentioned at Claim form, as given in Annex I-B, duly filled in and signed by the claimant(s) other than those who have signed the letter of disclaimer / no objection
4. Officially Valid Document of the claimant(s) towards verifying his / her identity and address
5. Bond of indemnity, as given in Annex I-C, signed by the claimant(s)
6. Letter of disclaimer / no objection, as given in Annex I-D, from non-claimant legal heir(s), if applicable
7. Legal Heir Certificate issued by a competent authority

(c) For other claims in respect of such missing person shall be settled as per the procedure applicable for settlement of claims in respect of a deceased customer with / without nominee.

(d) In a situation where an individual is missing and if the nominee / legal heirs produce the declaration of the Court that such an individual is presumed to be dead (civil death) then, such person’s account may be treated as of the account of a deceased person. In such cases, when a declaration as aforesaid is furnished, the same will be tantamount to the death certificate and it would be in order for the Bank to proceed on such declaration to settle the claims in respect of such missing person’s accounts.

In addition to guidelines given for settlement of claim upto threshold limit i.e. ₹15 lacs and above threshold limit i.e. above ₹15 lacs, following additional guidelines are given for convenience of Non-Resident customers.

1) For Non-Resident Depositor / Claimant

1. In case the Depositor is Non-Resident, and has passed away abroad, the death certificate which is attested / certified by any of the following shall be accepted for processing the claim:
   1. authorised officials of overseas branches of Scheduled Commercial Banks registered in India; or
   2. branches of overseas banks with whom Indian banks have correspondent banking relationships; or
   3. a Court Magistrate or Judge or Notary Public; or
   4. consularised by Indian Embassy / Consulate General in the country of issuance; or
   5. apostilled.
2. In case Claimants (NRIs or Foreign Nationals) stay abroad and it is not possible for them to come to India for completion of formalities:
   1. Execute the documents abroad in the presence of officials of Bank’s foreign offices
   2. Execute the documents in the presence of Indian Embassy officials. The said document shall be submitted to the Stamp authorities for payment of stamp duty after it reaches India.
   3. The claimant can appoint his attorney for obtaining proper legal representation and obtain payment against affidavit, indemnity, surety etc. The procedure for the same is that the claimant should execute valid Power of Attorney (POA) which is attested by the Indian Embassy officials.
3. The assets of deceased NRI account holder should be settled to the legal heirs as per the Personal Law of succession (Hindu, Muslim, Christian or any other community) applicable to the depositor. This is irrespective of whether the claimants happen to be a resident Indian, NRI, PIO or a foreign national. (However, if any court order / legal representation is obtained, the proceeds should be settled as ordered by Court. In the case of a foreign court order, ancillary orders / resealing should be obtained from Indian Court u/s 228 of the Indian Succession Act.)
4. Foreign nationals cannot be accepted as sureties while obtaining Letter of Indemnity as he / she will not be governed by Indian law.
5. In case of legal representation:
   • Will probated by Indian Court – Same as in resident case.
   • Will probated by Foreign Court – properly authenticated copy of the will issued by Foreign Court is to be produced in the Courts of India who can then grant Letters of Administration.
   • Succession Certificate / Certificate of inheritance / Letter of Administration by Indian Court – No additional due diligence except for KYC / proper identification of beneficiaries.
   • Succession Certificate / Certificate of inheritance / Letter of Administration by Foreign Court:
     1. If issued by a Superior Court of a Reciprocating Territory (as notified by Central Govt in Official Gazette), Claimants to obtain a grant from competent District Court in India for executing the certificate.
     2. In case, where such certificate is not issued by a Superior Court of Reciprocating Territory, Claimant may be advised to file an application before appropriate District Court in India for issuing a separate Certificate (afresh) by producing the Certificate issued by the Foreign Court.

If Succession Certificate does not mention the Bank account for which claim is being made – It will be treated as claim without legal representation and to be acted upon accordingly.

A claimant can lodge the claim at any of the branches against acknowledgment. In case all required documents for processing of the claim have been submitted by the claimant, the branch shall issue a confirmation in this regard. However, in case of any pending or incomplete/ incorrect documents, the branch shall intimate the claimant about the list of such documents while acknowledging the receipt of claim. On subsequent submission of all the required documents, the branch shall issue a confirmation to the claimant that all required documents have been received for processing of the claim.

A claimant may choose / opt to online lodgment of such claims. Alternatively, the claimant shall submit the claim along with necessary documents and/or documents for verification at any of the branches as per his / her convenience. The recipient branch shall verify the documents and shall provide acknowledgement to the claimant for having received the claim / documents. Further after receiving all necessary documents the branch settling the claim will inform the claimant for having received all necessary documents with the likely date of settlement (not exceeding 15 calendar days from the date of receipt of all required documents).

For online deceased claim : Click Here