Misplaced documents? Here is help
Paperwork can be cumbersome,
more so if you have to go through it all over again after losing documents.
However, there are ways to make life simpler.
As residents of Chennai set
out on the path to a normal life after being hit by devastating floods
recently, a part of this exercise will involve replacing lost belongings,
including key financial documents that may have been washed away or damaged by
water.
Natural disasters apart,
even the most meticulous individuals can end up misplacing documents despite
putting all safeguards in place. Therefore, it is important to keep yourself
abreast of the process of retrieving them should you find yourself in such a
situation.
Thanks to the electronic modes
of investing and buying policies, it is likely that many may not even need to
get duplicate documents. However, those who have chosen the physical route will
have to follow certain processes to restore their lost or damaged documents.
The gradual digitisation of
the investment process over time has made the process of obtaining duplicates
much simpler, particularly if you have mentioned your email ID in the
application form.
You can visit the websites
of the registrar and transfer agents like CAMS and use the mail-back services
option to get a consolidated statement of your holdings. You can also call the
fund houses' tollfree numbers, cite your PAN and ask for the statement to be
mailed to you.
“Either way, there is no
need to panic as the investor's holdings are safe regardless of their
possession of physical statements,“ says Srikanth Meenakshi, Co-founder and
COO, FundsIndia.com.
LIFE INSURANCE
You will need to get in
touch with your agent or insurer and submit a declaration on an indemnity bond,
along with your photograph and identification proof. The insurer will then
re-issue the duplicate policy bond to you. However, most life insurers have eased
this process for customers in Chennai. “Only photo ID proof and a letter from
the customer, mentioning that he has lost or damaged policy documents during
the floods will suffice,“ says Deepak Mittal, MD and CEO, Edelweiss Tokio Life
Insurance. If the policy document is partially damaged, your insurer could also
ask you to furnish its remnants as evidence. The insurance company should able
to issue you a duplicate policy bond within seven days of receiving all the
documents.
HEALTH INSURANCE
An indemnity bond is
required to be submitted in case of any insurance contract--life, health or
motor. If you know your policy number, you only have to contact the insurance
company, quote this number and initiate the process for securing the policy
document.Most insurers will, after authenticating your identity, mail across
soft or physical copies of your policy documents to you.
“If the policy number is
not available, the customer can share the date of birth of the family member
who is the policyholder or his or her registered mobile number or email ID to
help us instantly retrieve the information,“ says Anika Agarwal, Head,
Marketing, Max Bupa Health Insurance.
HOME AND LOAN PAPERS
The first step is to
register an FIR for the loss of title deeds as well as other property-related
documents. This has to be followed by public notices in newspapers.Then
approach the registrar. “The registrar will always have copies of ownership
documents. While the original documents cannot be replaced, they can always be
recreated through this standard process,“ says Harshil Mehta, CEO of housing
finance company DHFL.
You will also have to seek
your housing society's aid if you live in one. “Request a duplicate share
certificate from the housing society by submitting the FIR copy and copy of the
published notices along with a written undertaking as stipulated under the
bye-laws adopted by the society,“ says an HDFC spokesperson. You can then
obtain certified or duplicate copies of registered title documents from the
sub-registrar's office concerned.
Similarly, you have to
intimate your lender about any loss of home loan agreement. “It is a legal
contract and will have to be drawn up again,“ adds Mehta.
DIGITISE FOR SECURITY
The easiest way of securing
your documents and eliminating the hassles of obtaining duplicates is to take
the electronic route wherever possible. “It is best to scan copies of all your
documents and store them in your mailbox. You can easily access reference
numbers to retrieve documents later. You can also store soft copies in the
digital locker (digitallocker.gov.in) provided by the government,“ says Harshil
Mehta, CEO of DHFL.
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PREETI KULKARNI
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ETW4JAN16
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