Make a bereavement claim

We know that losing someone close to you is incredibly hard, so we'll do our best to make the process of making a claim as quick, compassionate and caring as possible.

Letting us know about your claim

The quickest and easiest way to notify your claim is via our online claims form.

Before you get started it’s helpful to have the following information to hand which you’ll need to complete the form:

  • The policy number of the life insurance you’re claiming on
  • The original death certificate or coroner’s interim report
  • Details of the deceased’s estate. This includes information about their will, beneficiaries and surviving family

If your policy starts with PR

  • 0370 240 0073 (Between 9:00am and 5:00pm Monday to Friday, excluding bank holidays)

If your policy doesn’t start with PR

  • 0370 243 0827 (Between 8:30am and 5:30pm Monday to Friday, excluding bank holidays)

Don't know your policy number?

If you're not sure what the policy number is, don't worry. Just call us on 0370 333 1500 and we'll be happy to help. We're open 9.00am - 5.00pm Monday to Friday, excluding bank holidays.

If you're dialling from outside the UK it's +44 1793 511 227.

Just so you know, we may record or monitor calls to and from our team for training and quality purposes.

We’ll assess your claim

Once we've received your claim and the supporting information we need, we'll start assessing it. We'll keep you updated throughout the process, that way you will always know exactly what’s happening.

We’ll pay your claim

Once we’ve assessed your claim and made a decision, we’ll pay the money due for any valid claim to the relevant beneficiaries’ accounts. If the policy is held in trust, we’ll pay the money in line with the trust, this could be to a trustee account or to named beneficiaries – we’ll let you know your options.

Frequently asked questions

You may have questions at this stage, that’s completely natural.

We’ve included a selection of some of the questions we commonly receive but if there’s anything else you need, just get in touch.

We'll need the original death certificate or interim coroner’s report.

We may also need to obtain medical information to support your claim from the deceased’s GP, consultant or treating medical professional(s) and we’ll ask for consent to do this.

If you’ve made a claim with another life insurance company, we may need to contact them too. This includes sharing evidence to reduce the need for you to send information to multiple different providers.

If the deceased’s GP doesn’t have a complete picture of their past medical history or the death was registered abroad, then we may need to obtain additional medical information in order to fully assess the claim.

If that happens we’ll let you know and explain how we’ll do that.

Timescales can vary, especially if we’re dependent on 3rd parties such as the GP or medical professional for information needed to assess the claim, or if the death was registered abroad.

The more information we have upfront, the faster we can assess the claim, so making sure you provide as much detail as early on as possible, is key.

Top Tip - In our experience, GP surgeries tend to respond best to their patients and their families. The more proactive you can be in chasing the return of medical evidence from the practice or consultant, the faster we can pay your claim.

As a general rule, we’ll stop collecting the payments on the policy from the date you notify us of the bereavement and after we’ve settled the claim, the cover under the policy will usually end.

There are a few exceptions which may apply here based on the different types of policies available and the way those work. Don’t worry, we’ll explain all of this when we handle your claim, so you know exactly what to expect.

Coming to terms with a loss can be incredibly difficult.

Zurich Support Services offers targeted support across a range of different services including things like emotional support when dealing with a bereavement, as well as legal or financial guidance for help with things like probate or dealing with debt.

This service is provided free and completely confidential, available 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. To find out more simply download our brochure.

If your policy begins PR you can write to us at: Zurich Assurance, Protection Operations, PO Box 4157, Swindon, SN4 4QB.

If your policy doesn't begin PR, please use this address instead to make sure we get your correspondence to the right place, first time. Zurich Assurance - InForce Claims, Unity Place, 1 Carfax Close, Swindon, SN1 1AP.

We’re committed to providing you with the highest possible level of service. If you feel we've not delivered this, let us know so we can act quickly to put things right. To do this, please complete our online complaint form. If the policy number starts with 'PR' please use the life protection online complaint form.

If you need any further help please visit:

If you have any communication or accessibility needs you’d like us to be aware of, when dealing with your claim, just let our friendly team know so we can tailor your journey to work for you.

grandmother with grandson

Zurich Support Services

We’re here for you 24/7 and provide easy access to free, confidential support whenever you need it.

From legal guidance to money worries and emotional support it’s all part of the service.

*Calls to and from our team may be recorded or monitored for quality and training purposes.

Zurich Support Services

Data protection

Your privacy is important to us. You can view our Fair Processing Notice here which explains everything you need to know, or if you'd like to understand more about how we use and process your data take a look at our data protection leaflet: