Insurance is the most important social security asset that a family can own. It ensures that in your time of need, your health or physical requirements are taken care of.
There is various insurance company in India providing insurance service to individuals. Insurance helps an individual in protecting his family/friends, assets, and themselves from any losses.
At the time of purchase of the policy, you can be promised a lot of things however, at the time of need, the promises of the insurance company are tested.
In case, you are subject to false claims or unjust conduct, you can file a complaint against the insurance provider or insurance agent.
There are various ways that you can use to file a complaint against an insurance company. In this article, we will discuss how to file a complaint against an Insurance company with insurance, IRDAI, Insurance Ombudsman, etc.
Register your Complaint Against an Insurance Company
You can register your complaints in various ways and with various departments. The following are the complaints that you can register against an Insurance Company-
Register a Complaint with the Insurance Company
The very first step for the policyholders is to raise a complaint with the insurance company. Every insurance company has a Grievances Redressal Officer (GRO) who looks after any grievances faced by an individual.
You can use the online portal of the Insurance Company to file your complaint or you can raise the complaint by writing a letter addressing, the grievance officer.
Every insurance company has its mechanism in place to deal with the complaint redressal but all other them must adhere to the rules and regulations set up by the Governmental Authorities.
While filing the complaint, you’ll have to make sure that you are providing the right amount of supporting documents to the insurance company and a list of the documents that you have provided must be mentioned in the letter as well.
Register a Complaint with the IRDAI
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India or IRDAI is the insurance sector regulator set up by the Government of India to regulate insurance companies.
This body’s main aim is to protect the rights of the policyholder by providing them a platform for getting their grievances redressed when insurance companies fail to do so.
IRDAI has a specific online portal to deal with the grievances called Integrated Grievance Management System (IGMS). You can file an online complaint with the IRDAI by following these steps-
- Visit the official IRDI IGMS online portal and get yourself registered using your email and phone number
- While registering you’ll also have to enter the OTP from your email and phone number
- After registration is complete, you’ll have to login to your account using the login credentials
- After logging in, fill out the application form with details like name, address, policy number, and policy insurer company, and make sure to write in detail what the problem faced by you
- In the next step, you’ll have to upload relevant documents like policy documents, receipts, etc.
- Now, submit the form and you’ll receive an SMS with your complaint number. This number can be used to track your complaint status.
Write a letter to the IRDAI
You can also write a letter to IRDAI and send it to the postal address of IRDAI to get your complaint registered. You’ll be communicated with the contact details that you’ve provided in the letter.
Alternatively, you can also write to complaints@irdai.gov.in email which is a specific email provided to the citizen to register their complaints against the insurer.
IRDAI Address
General Manager
Consumer Affairs Department- Grievance Redressal Cell,
Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India(IRDAI),
Sy. No.115/1, Financial District, Nanakramguda,
Gachibowli, Hyderabad-500032
Register your Complaint with Insurance Ombudsman
If your grievance is not addressed then you can escalate the matter further by registering your complaint with the Insurance Ombudsman.
The Insurance Ombudsman is an officer who mediates between you and the insurance company. You can file your complaint with the officer by filing your complaint with the officer.
In India, there are 17 Insurance Ombudsman who looks at matter related to the Insurance Ombudsman. You can file your complaint physically as well as online. The following are the steps that you can follow to file your complaint online-
- Visit the official portal of the Insurance Ombudsman or you can follow this link- https://cioins.co.in/Complaint/Online
- Now, enter your phone number and click on the submit button
- An OTP will be sent to your registered mobile number followed by selecting whom you want to file the complaint against
- Now, a form will appear which you’ll have to fill in with details like name, address, email, date of birth
- In the next step, you’ll have to fill in complaint details like policy number, the compensation sought in rupees, and date of occurrence
- After filling out these details, you’ll have to upload the documents and submit a declaration thereon
- Now, click on the submit button and your grievance will be submitted and you’ll receive the complaint number used for tracking the complaint.
Register your Complaint in Civil Court
If your complaint is still not addressed to your satisfaction then as a last resort, you can file a legal case against the insurance company.
The matter related to this will be generally filed in a civil court and you can hire a lawyer to file the case.
Turn Around Time for Resolving Grievance Redressal
The following are the turnaround times for resolving grievance redressal-
| Service Rendered | Maximum Turn-Around Time |
| Processing the proposal, issue of policy, or cancellation of the policy | 15 days |
| Obtaining a copy of the policy proposal | 30 days |
| Service requests for errors or refund or NCB (No Claim Bonus) related service requests | 10 days |
| Related to Annuity, Surrender value | 10 days |
| Survival Benefit, Maturity Claim, or penal interest not paid | 15 days |
| Raising claim requirements after registering a claim | 15 days |
| Death Claim settlement without investigation requirement | 30 days |
| Death Claim repudiation or settlement with investigation requirement | 6 months |
| Acknowledging a grievance | 3 days |
| Resolving a grievance | 15 days |
