Customer Guide
Procedure for Settlement of Claims in respect of Deceased Depositors / Locker-holders

Settlement of Claims in respect of deceased depositors and locker holders will primarily depend upon whether – (a) the depositor(s) or locker holder(s) had appointed Nominee or (b) in case of joint accounts, the account holders had given ‘survivorship mandate’ to the Bank.

Nomination facility simplifies the procedure for settlement of claims of deceased depositors as the bank will make payment of the balance outstanding in a depositor's account at the time of his death or delivering contents of locker to the nominee on verification of his/her identity and proof of death of depositor. Nomination facility is available for all deposit accounts and lockers and, if availed, would ensure smooth settlement of claim to the nominee.

It may be noted that nomination is introduced solely for the purpose of simplifying the procedure for settlement of claims of deceased depositors and nomination facility does not take away the rights of legal heirs on the estate of the deceased. The nominee would be receiving the money from the bank as a trustee of the legal heirs.

A joint account opened as "Either or Survivor" or "Anyone or Survivors" or "Former or Survivor" or "Latter or Survivor" will permit the surviving account holder(s) to have unimpeded access to the credit balance in the account for withdrawal if one of the account holders dies. Payment to survivor(s) will be made in the normal course subject to the only rider that there is no order from a competent court restraining the bank from making such payment.

The Banking Companies (Nomination) Rules, 1985 have been framed in terms of Sections 45ZA to 45 ZF of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.

1. Nomination facility is intended only for individuals including a sole proprietary concern.
   
   
2. There cannot be more than one nominee in respect of single / joint deposit account.
   
   
3. Bank may allow variation/cancellation of a subsisting nomination by all the surviving depositor(s) acting together. This is also applicable to deposits having operating instructions "Either or Survivor".
   
   
4. It may be noted that in the case of a joint deposit account the nominee's right arises only after the death of all the depositors.

1. With Nomination

2. Without Nomination

I. Accounts/Lockers with Nomination or Joint Accounts/Lockers with “Either or Survivor” / “Anyone or Survivor” / “Former or Survivor” / “Latter or Survivor” instructions

The following documents are required to be submitted by the claimant(s) :

1. Application Form (as per prescribed format)
2. Proof of death of depositor(s) or hirer(s) – original to be produced for verification.
3. Proof of identification of nominee(s) wherever applicable such as Ration Card, Election ID Card, PAN Card or Passport or any other satisfactory proof of identification acceptable to the bank. (Original to be produced for verification)

Notes:

1. The Claim will be considered after ascertaining the identity of the survivor(s)/nominee and the fact of death of the account holder, through appropriate documentary evidence;
2. The survivor(s)/nominee would be receiving the payment from the bank as a trustee of the legal heirs of the deceased depositor, i.e., such payment to him / them shall not affect the right or claim which any person may have against the survivor(s)/nominee to whom the payment is made.
3. Since payment made to the survivor(s) / nominee, subject to the foregoing conditions, would constitute a full discharge of the bank's liability, the Bank would not ask for / insist on production of succession certificate, letter of administration or probate, etc., or obtain bond of indemnity or surety from the survivor(s)/nominee, irrespective of the amount standing to the credit of the deceased account holder.

II. Accounts/Lockers without Nomination or Joint Accounts/Lockers without “Either or Survivor” / “Anyone or Survivor” / “Former or Survivor” / “Latter or Survivor” instructions, where amount claimed is upto Rs.500,000/-.

Bank would normally settle the claims in respect of deceased depositors and release payments to survivor(s) / nominee in case of accounts with survivorship mandate / nominee within a period not exceeding 15 days from the date of receipt of the claim subject to the production of proof of death of the depositor and suitable identification of the claimant(s) to the member bank's satisfaction. In the case of accounts without survivor / nominee clause the claim should be settled within 1 month from the date on which the requisite documents have been submitted.

Premature termination of Term Deposit Accounts and payment of interest / other issues relating to Term Deposit Account

1. In the case of term deposits, if the depositor(s) have authorised premature termination in the event of the death, the bank may allow premature withdrawals without levying penalties.
2. Payment of interest in case of term deposit accounts of deceased depositor(s)

   In case of a term deposit standing in the name/s of –
   (1) a deceased individual depositor, or
   (2) two or more joint depositors, where one of the depositors has died, interest shall be paid in the manner indicated below

   1. on the maturity of the deposit: at the contracted rate.
   2. In case of premature withdrawal i.e., in the event of the payment of deposit being claimed before the maturity date : the bank will pay interest at applicable rate with reference to the period for which the deposit has remained with the bank without charging penalty.
   3. In case of deposit being claimed after the date of maturity : At Savings Bank rate (simple) will be paid from due date upto date of payment of claim.
      
      
3. Splitting of Term Deposit
   If, on request from the claimant/s, bank may agree to split the amount of term deposit and issues two or more receipts individually in the names of the claimant/s, it shall not be construed as premature withdrawal of the term deposit, provided the period and aggregate amount of the deposit do not undergo any change.

In order to avoid hardship to the survivor(s) / nominee of a deposit account, the bank may obtain authorization from the survivor(s) / nominee to return the pipeline flows to the remitter with the remark "Account holder deceased" and to intimate the survivor(s) / nominee accordingly. The survivor(s) / nominee / legal heir(s) could then approach the remitter to effect payment through a negotiable instrument or through ECS transfer in the name of the appropriate beneficiary.

Disclaimer: This is a brief guide for customers / claimants and not the complete transcript of the procedure followed by the Bank for settlement of deceased claims. You are advised to approach the Branch Manager or Manager Customer Service at any of our Branches for further information / clarifications / updates and for obtaining specimen forms / formats prescribed for the purpose.

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