Delay in payment of death claims

Dear Mr. Tan,

My sister in-law died on 16/12/2006 in New York at age 43.

The only documents at hand are :

1) the death certificate
2) cremation certificate
3) Acknowledgement from the S'pore Consulate for receipt of the deceased's passport and nric.

The family submitted claims to three life insurance companies (not NTUC) in January 2007.

The insurance companies had not approved the claims yet. They are still investigating the cause of death and require more information. All policies were in force and at least more than 2 years from the date of inception.

How can I get the insurance companies to settle the claims earlier?

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My reply:

If the insurance company is unreasonable in delaying the payment of the claim, you can lodge a complaint with the following organisation:

FiDREC

If there is delay of more than two months in the payment of the claim, the insurance company is required to pay interest for the period of delay.