How to file a complaint with the Insurance Ombudsman online

You can file with the Insurance Ombudsman online on the Council for Insurance Ombudsmen's portal, by email, by post or in person, and it costs nothing. Online, you fill in the form, upload your documents, confirm with an OTP and receive a complaint number, but the complaint is registered only after the Ombudsman's office verifies it. Have your earlier complaint to the insurer, its reply and your ID ready before you start.

Since the 2021 amendment, the Insurance Ombudsman Rules accept a complaint that is signed on paper, sent by email, or made online through the Council for Insurance Ombudsmen's website. IRDAI's master circular lists the ways to take a matter to the Ombudsman: in person, online at cioins.co.in, or in writing by post or email, without any charge or fee.^{[1, 2, 3]}

Before you open the form

• Check the conditions: Run through the eligibility checklist first. The portal verifies complaints before registering them and does not register one it finds incorrect or invalid.^[4]
• Your mobile phone: The form sends an OTP to your mobile, valid for 90 seconds, and you will use the same number to track the complaint later.^{[4, 5]}
• Your documents, scanned: Two uploads are mandatory: a copy of your complaint to the insurer, and valid ID and address proof. The form also takes the insurer's rejection letter, a photograph, the policy and other documents. Each file must be a PDF or JPG of 10 MB or less. The documents checklist covers what else to add.^{[4, 5]}
• Your dates and numbers: The form asks for the date you complained to the insurer, whether it replied, the policy number, the date of occurrence and the compensation you seek.^[4]
• Which centre: You choose the centre whose area covers your home or the insurer's branch or office. Choosing the office explains the two options the Rules give you.^{[4, 1]}

Filing online, step by step

1. 1

   Open the Council's portal

   On cioins.co.in, choose 'Register Complaint' under 'Complaint Online'. Use the Council's own site; the complaint goes to the Ombudsman's office through it.^{[5, 6]}

2. 2

   Verify your mobile

   Enter your mobile number and the OTP sent to it.^[4]

3. 3

   Say whom you are complaining against

   Choose an insurance company or an insurance broker. The Ombudsman Rules cover grievances against both.^{[4, 1]}

4. 4

   Describe the complaint

   Fill in your details and the complaint. The Rules ask a complaint to state the facts, supported by documents, the nature and extent of your loss, and the relief you seek from the Ombudsman, so write the brief details in that order.^[1]

5. 5

   Answer the confirmations

   The form asks whether you complained to the insurer, when, and whether you received a reply. Where a centre has a high complaint load, it may ask whether you consent to the complaint being moved to another centre and heard online.^[4]

6. 6

   Upload, review and declare

   Upload the files, review what you entered, and declare that the information is correct to the best of your knowledge. Read it through: the declaration is yours.^[4]

7. 7

   Submit and keep the number

   After you submit and enter the OTP, an online complaint number is generated. Save it, with a screenshot of the confirmation screen.^[5]

Filing by email, post or in person

The Council's procedure page says you can send a complaint letter with photocopies of the supporting documents to the Ombudsman's office by post or email. The Ombudsman's name and address must be in your policy document and in the insurer's reply to your complaint. Write the letter as the Rules require: who you are, the insurer's branch, the facts with documents, your loss and the relief you seek.^{[7, 3, 1]}

After you file

You track an online complaint on the Council's site with your registered mobile number and an OTP; the stages run from registration through consent for mediation and the hearing to the award or recommendation. Complaints are handled by the Ombudsman offices directly, so copies need not be sent to the Council. What happens after filing covers each stage.^{[5, 6, 8]}

ClaimAssure is an independent private platform. It is not an insurer, IRDAI, Bima Bharosa or the Insurance Ombudsman, it never files anything on your behalf, and it cannot promise any outcome. What it does is read your documents and show you what they say.

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