What is the Customer Information Sheet (CIS), and why should I read it first?
Written for policyholders in India · Last reviewed 2026-10-10
The Customer Information Sheet is a short document every insurer must give you with the policy, explaining its key features in simple words in one place — cover, exclusions, limits, waiting periods, the claims process and how to complain. Its format points to the policy clause behind each item, which makes it the quickest index to your wording. It is only a summary: where it conflicts with the policy document, the policy document prevails.
Every insurer must provide the Customer Information Sheet along with the policy document. IRDAI's health master circular describes it as a document that explains, in simple words, the basic features of a policy in one place.[1, 2]
What a health CIS covers
- The basics: the type of insurance, the sum insured, the coverage provided and a summary of exclusions[2]
- The limits: sub-limits, deductibles and waiting periods, each in plain words[2]
- Important rights: the free-look period, renewal, migration, portability and the moratorium[2]
- Claims and complaints: the claims procedure, policy servicing and grievance redressal, including the Insurance Ombudsman's contact details[2]
General insurance policies, including motor, come with their own CIS covering the scope of cover, add-ons, sum insured, exclusions, deductibles, special conditions and warranties, and endorsements.[3]
How to use it
Read it first
It gives you the shape of the policy in a few pages, before you open the full wording.
Follow the clause numbers
IRDAI's format asks the insurer to give the applicable policy clause number against each item. Use those numbers to go straight to the wording.[3]
Read your obligations
The health format asks you to disclose all pre-existing diseases or conditions before buying, and warns that non-disclosure may affect claim settlement.[3]
Ask for it in your language
The insurer must take your acknowledgement of the CIS, and on request it will be made available in the local language.[2]
What the CIS is not
It is not the contract. IRDAI's own format says that in case of any conflict, the terms and conditions in the policy document prevail, and one insurer prints the same disclaimer at the head of its sheet. If the CIS says one thing and the wording another, the wording is what a claim will be decided on.[3, 4]
You should receive the CIS within 15 days of the insurer accepting your proposal, together with the policy document and a copy of your proposal form. How to read your health policy shows how the CIS fits with the rest.[3]
Sources
The official documents this page relies on. Rules change: where it matters to your claim, check the current version at the source.
1. Gazette of India (Extraordinary, Part III Sec 4), hosted by Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance
IRDAI (Protection of Policyholders' Interests, Operations and Allied Matters of Insurers) Regulations, 2024, F. No. IRDAI/Reg/11/205/2024, Hyderabad, 20 March 2024Accessed 2026-10-09 · Cited at: IRDAI (Protection of Policyholders' Interests, Operations and Allied Matters of Insurers) Regulations, 2024 (Gazette notification F. No. IRDAI/Reg/11/205/2024), regulation 12
2. IRDAI (verbatim copy hosted by the Institute of Actuaries of India)
Master Circular on Health Insurance Business, Ref IRDAI/HLT/CIR/PRO/84/5/2024 dated 29.05.2024 (17 pages, Version 1)Dated 2024-05-29 · Accessed 2026-10-09 · Cited at: IRDAI Master Circular on Health Insurance Business, IRDAI/HLT/CIR/PRO/84/5/2024, 29 May 2024, Chapter I, para 4; IRDAI Master Circular on Health Insurance Business, IRDAI/HLT/CIR/PRO/84/5/2024, 29 May 2024, Chapter I, para 4(b)(i)-(iv); IRDAI Master Circular on Health Insurance Business, IRDAI/HLT/CIR/PRO/84/5/2024, 29 May 2024, Chapter I, para 4(b)(v) (CIS contents); IRDAI Master Circular on Health Insurance Business, IRDAI/HLT/CIR/PRO/84/5/2024, 29 May 2024, Chapter I, para 4(b)(vi) (CIS contents); IRDAI Master Circular on Health Insurance Business, IRDAI/HLT/CIR/PRO/84/5/2024, 29 May 2024, Chapter I, para 4(b)(vii) (CIS contents); IRDAI Master Circular on Health Insurance Business, IRDAI/HLT/CIR/PRO/84/5/2024, 29 May 2024, Chapter I, para 4(b)(viii); IRDAI Master Circular on Health Insurance Business, IRDAI/HLT/CIR/PRO/84/5/2024, 29 May 2024, Chapter I, para 4(c)
Read from a copy hosted at actuariesindia.org · Official page
3. IRDAI (scanned verbatim copy hosted by TaxGuru)
Master Circular on Protection of Policyholders' Interests, 2024, Ref IRDAI/PP&GR/CIR/MISC/117/9/2024 dated 5 September 2024Dated 2024-09-05 · Accessed 2026-10-09 · Cited at: IRDAI Master Circular on Protection of Policyholders' Interests, IRDAI/PP&GR/CIR/MISC/117/9/2024, 5 Sep 2024, Section 1, Part C (Retail General), 'Customer Information Sheet (CIS)', item 3; IRDAI Master Circular on Protection of Policyholders' Interests, IRDAI/PP&GR/CIR/MISC/117/9/2024, 5 Sep 2024, Schedule D, 'Customer Information Sheet/Know Your Policy – Health', column heading (p. 100 of the copy read); IRDAI Master Circular on Protection of Policyholders' Interests, IRDAI/PP&GR/CIR/MISC/117/9/2024, 5 Sep 2024, Schedule D, CIS – Health, row 13 'Your Obligations' (p. 105 of the copy read); IRDAI Master Circular on Protection of Policyholders' Interests, IRDAI/PP&GR/CIR/MISC/117/9/2024, 5 Sep 2024, Schedule D, 'Customer Information Sheet/Know Your Policy – Health', closing notes (p. 105 of the copy read); IRDAI Master Circular on Protection of Policyholders' Interests, IRDAI/PP&GR/CIR/MISC/117/9/2024, 5 Sep 2024, Section 1, Part B, 'Issuance of the insurance policy'; also Section 2, para 12.4
Read from a copy hosted at taxguru.in · Official page
4. The New India Assurance Co. Ltd.
Customer Information Sheet - Arogya Sanjeevani Policy (UIN NIAHLIP25044V022425)Accessed 2026-10-09 · Cited at: New India Assurance, Arogya Sanjeevani Customer Information Sheet (UIN NIAHLIP25044V022425), legal disclaimer at the head of each page
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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