Life insurance policies: Here are key exclusions that you must be aware of

Life insurance policies come with several benefits, but it has its own set of exclusions as well. Having known these exclusions are highly important so as to avoid any unpleasant surprises during the claim process.

These exclusions might differ from one insurer to other.

According to Rakesh Goyal, Director at Probus Insurance, death due to suicide falls under the exclusions. However, there are certain insurers that do extend the coverage after one year of the policy date.

Death due to involvement in any sort of life threatening activities or participation in any kind of criminal or illegal activities, is also considered as exclusions, said Goyal.

There are certain insurers who do not cover death due to pregnancy complications and during the childbirth.

Many people tend to not mention about any sort of smoking habits they possess, in order to avoid higher premiums. Having said that, if any claims are made post the insured's death and this information wasn't disclosed initially, then there is a very high probability of the claim been rejected, Goyal said.

"Similarly, if the insured fails to mention the details of any pre-existing disease that the insured had while buying the policy, then such claims could also get rejected," he said.

Most often, death in an air crash wherein the insured was traveling on a private airplane, is not covered by an insurance policy. However, if the insured has died while traveling with a commercial airline which follows a set schedule and routes, the insurer may pay out the death benefit, according to Bankbazaar.

No insurance policy, sold by any the insurer, will provide cover for the risk posed due to participation in illegal/criminal/unlawful activities. This can include activities like driving under the influence of alcohol, consumption of intoxicants like drugs or alcohol, injury or death caused due to a car accident wherein the insured was not wearing a seat belt or was speeding, participation in illegal protests, etc, Bankbazaar said.

As per this clause, if the insured has died due to a war act or any war-related activity, then the death benefit will not be paid out.

Apart from the above mentioned exclusions, there might be other exclusions as per the plan or insurer. So, one must check their policy document well in advance to avoid any confusion during the claim process.