What are the time limits for an insurance complaint in India?
Written for policyholders in India · Last reviewed 2026-10-10
With the insurer: acknowledgement immediately and resolution within 14 days. With the Insurance Ombudsman: you can go once the insurer rejects your complaint, replies unsatisfactorily, or has not replied within one month of receiving it, and you must file within one year. After filing, the Ombudsman's mediation and award stages have their own limits, and claim-settlement deadlines are separate again. Each figure below is cited to the rule it comes from.
Your complaint to the insurer
| Step | Time limit | Counted from |
|---|---|---|
| Acknowledgement | Immediately | Receipt of your complaint |
| Resolution, with reasons citing the policy terms if your complaint is not accepted | Within 14 days (two weeks) | Receipt of your complaint |
| No reply: one of the Insurance Ombudsman Rules' conditions is met | One month | The insurer's receipt of your written complaint |
IRDAI and Bima Bharosa
Bima Bharosa's home page says a complaint will be attended to within 14 days, and IRDAI's FAQ says you can approach IRDAI's Grievance Redressal Cell if a complaint is not resolved within two weeks. The official pages we read set no deadline for escalating to IRDAI. The Insurance Ombudsman Rules count their one-year limit from the insurer's decision or silence, not from anything that happens on Bima Bharosa.[4, 5, 2]
The Insurance Ombudsman
| Stage | Time limit |
|---|---|
| When you can file | After the insurer rejects your written complaint, replies unsatisfactorily, or has not replied within one month of receiving it |
| Deadline to file | Within one year of receiving the rejection or decision; if there was no reply, within one year of the end of one month after you sent your complaint |
| Filing late | Only if the Ombudsman condones the delay, after calling for the insurer's objections and recording reasons |
| Mediation recommendation | Within one month of both sides' written consent to mediation |
| Your acceptance of a recommendation | In writing within 15 days of receiving it, as a full and final settlement |
| Insurer complies with an accepted recommendation | Immediately, and not later than 15 days of receiving it |
| Award | Within three months of the Ombudsman receiving all requirements from you |
| Insurer complies with an award | Within 30 days of receiving it; the award binds the insurer |
| Award not honoured within 30 days | IRDAI's circular makes a penalty of ₹5,000 a day payable to you, unless the insurer appeals within 30 days |
An award also carries interest at the rate the regulations specify, which IRDAI's circular puts at 2 percent above the bank rate, from the date the claim ought to have been settled. Awards cannot exceed the loss directly suffered and, since the November 2023 amendment, ₹50 lakh including expenses; older pages that say ₹30 lakh are out of date.[2, 1, 6]
Claim-settlement deadlines, for comparison
| Claim | Time limit | Counted from |
|---|---|---|
| Health, cashless request | Decision immediately, and within one hour | Receipt of the cashless request |
| Health, cashless discharge | Final authorisation within three hours | Receipt of the hospital's discharge request |
| Health, other than cashless | Settlement within 15 days | Submission of the claim |
| Life, death claim not needing investigation | Within 15 days | Intimation of the claim |
| Life, death claim needing investigation | Within 45 days | Intimation of the claim |
| Motor and other retail general claims sent to a surveyor | Decision within seven days of the survey report, or after 15 days from allocation to the surveyor, whichever is earlier; the circular excludes property policies on a reinstatement-value basis | The survey report, or allocation to the surveyor |
If a claim is not settled within these timelines, IRDAI's master circular entitles the claimant to interest at the bank rate plus 2 percent from receipt of intimation to payment. See health claim settlement time and interest on a delayed claim.[8, 9]
Using these limits
- Write down three dates: when you sent your complaint, when the insurer received it, and when you received its reply. Almost every limit above runs from one of them.
- The one-year limit for the Insurance Ombudsman is the one that closes a door. Count it from the earliest date that could apply.[2]
- Official pages sometimes give different figures for the same step, such as 15 days in Bima Bharosa's FAQ and 30 days on the Council for Insurance Ombudsmen's procedure page. This page follows the master circular and the Rules.[5, 10]
- None of these limits says how a complaint will be decided. A deadline being met does not mean a claim will be paid, and a deadline being missed does not mean it will.
Sources
The official documents this page relies on. Rules change: where it matters to your claim, check the current version at the source.
1. IRDAI (copy hosted by CAalley.com because irdai.gov.in was unreachable)
Master Circular on Protection of Policyholders' Interests, 2024 - IRDAI/PP&GR/CIR/MISC/117/9/2024 dated 5 September 2024Dated 2024-09-05 · Accessed 2026-10-09 · Cited at: Master Circular on Protection of Policyholders' Interests 2024 (IRDAI/PP&GR/CIR/MISC/117/9/2024, 5 Sept 2024), introductory para 3 (p. 3); Master Circular on Protection of Policyholders' Interests 2024 (IRDAI/PP&GR/CIR/MISC/117/9/2024, 5 Sept 2024), Section 1, Parts A/B/C, VI 2(i) 'Turnaround time for resolution of complaints/ grievance' (pp. 19, 33, 47); Master Circular on Protection of Policyholders' Interests 2024 (IRDAI/PP&GR/CIR/MISC/117/9/2024, 5 Sept 2024), Section 1, Parts A/B/C, VI 2(i) (pp. 19, 33, 47); Master Circular on Protection of Policyholders' Interests 2024 (IRDAI/PP&GR/CIR/MISC/117/9/2024, 5 Sept 2024), Section 1, Part A, VI 4(ii) 'Implementation of Ombudsman Award' (p. 19); VI 4(iv) disapplies it where the insurer appeals within 30 days; Master Circular on Protection of Policyholders' Interests 2024 (IRDAI/PP&GR/CIR/MISC/117/9/2024, 5 Sept 2024), Section 1, Part C, VI 4(iv) (p. 48); same in Parts A and B (pp. 20, 34); Master Circular on Protection of Policyholders' Interests 2024 (IRDAI/PP&GR/CIR/MISC/117/9/2024, 5 Sept 2024), Section 2, Chapter VII 'Compliance with Judicial / Quasi Judicial Awards', para 25.2 (p. 60)
Read from a copy hosted at caalley.com · Official page
2. Council for Insurance Ombudsmen (hosting the Ministry of Finance rules)
The Insurance Ombudsman Rules, 2017 [updated as on 9.11.2023] - consolidated copyDated 2023-11-09 · Accessed 2026-10-09 · Cited at: Insurance Ombudsman Rules, 2017 (consolidated as amended to 9 Nov 2023), Note 1 at the end; Insurance Ombudsman Rules, 2017 (consolidated as amended to 9 Nov 2023), rule 14(3)(a)(i)-(iii); Insurance Ombudsman Rules, 2017 (consolidated as amended to 9 Nov 2023), rule 14(3)(b)(i)-(ii); Insurance Ombudsman Rules, 2017 (consolidated as amended to 9 Nov 2023), rule 14(3)(b)(iii); Insurance Ombudsman Rules, 2017 (consolidated as amended to 9 Nov 2023), rule 14(4); Insurance Ombudsman Rules, 2017 (consolidated as amended to 9 Nov 2023), rule 16(1); Insurance Ombudsman Rules, 2017 (consolidated as amended to 9 Nov 2023), rule 16(2); Insurance Ombudsman Rules, 2017 (consolidated as amended to 9 Nov 2023), rule 16(3); Insurance Ombudsman Rules, 2017 (consolidated as amended to 9 Nov 2023), rule 17(4); Insurance Ombudsman Rules, 2017 (consolidated as amended to 9 Nov 2023), rule 17(6); Insurance Ombudsman Rules, 2017 (consolidated as amended to 9 Nov 2023), rule 17(8); Insurance Ombudsman Rules, 2017 (consolidated as amended to 9 Nov 2023), rule 17(7); Insurance Ombudsman Rules, 2017 (consolidated as amended to 9 Nov 2023), rule 17(3), proviso
3. IRDAI - policyholder.gov.in (Internet Archive snapshot dated 24 May 2025)
How to make a complaint - Policy Holder - IRDAIAccessed 2026-10-09 · Cited at: policyholder.gov.in/how-to-make-a-complaint, Internet Archive snapshot of 24 May 2025
Read from a copy hosted at web.archive.org · Official page
4. IRDAI - Bima Bharosa
Bima Bharosa - HomeAccessed 2026-10-09 · Cited at: bimabharosa.irdai.gov.in/Home/Home, Register Complaint panel
5. IRDAI - Bima Bharosa
Bima Bharosa - FAQ/HelpAccessed 2026-10-09 · Cited at: bimabharosa.irdai.gov.in/Home/FAQ, Q2; bimabharosa.irdai.gov.in/Home/FAQ, Q1
6. Ministry of Finance (Department of Financial Services), Gazette of India - copy hosted by CIO
Insurance Ombudsman (Amendment) Rules, 2023 - G.S.R. 828(E), 9 November 2023Dated 2023-11-09 · Accessed 2026-10-09 · Cited at: Insurance Ombudsman (Amendment) Rules, 2023, G.S.R. 828(E), 9 November 2023, para 6(ii)
7. 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: Master Circular on Health Insurance Business (29 May 2024), Chapter I, para 15(b); Master Circular on Health Insurance Business (29 May 2024), Chapter I, para 16(a)
Read from a copy hosted at actuariesindia.org · Official page
8. 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: Master Circular on Protection of Policyholders' Interests 2024 (IRDAI/PP&GR/CIR/MISC/117/9/2024, 5 Sept 2024), Section 1, Part B, para V.3(iii)6; Master Circular on Protection of Policyholders' Interests 2024 (IRDAI/PP&GR/CIR/MISC/117/9/2024, 5 Sept 2024), Section 1, Part B, para V.2(ii)
Read from a copy hosted at taxguru.in · Official page
9. IRDAI (scanned copy of the circular, hosted by caalley.com)
Master Circular on Protection of Policyholders' Interests, 2024 – Ref IRDAI/PP&GR/CIR/MISC/117/9/2024 dated 5 September 2024 (full scanned text with IRDAI letterhead; OCR text layer)Dated 2024-09-05 · Accessed 2026-10-09 · Cited at: Master Circular on Protection of Policyholders' Interests 2024 (IRDAI/PP&GR/CIR/MISC/117/9/2024, 5 Sept 2024), Section 1, Part A, V.2 table row 1 (p. 15); Master Circular on Protection of Policyholders' Interests 2024 (IRDAI/PP&GR/CIR/MISC/117/9/2024, 5 Sept 2024), Section 1, Part A, V.2 table row 2 (p. 15); Master Circular on Protection of Policyholders' Interests 2024 (IRDAI/PP&GR/CIR/MISC/117/9/2024, 5 Sept 2024), Section 1, Part C, V.4 para 5 (p. 46); Master Circular on Protection of Policyholders' Interests 2024 (IRDAI/PP&GR/CIR/MISC/117/9/2024, 5 Sept 2024), Section 1, Part A, V.2 (p. 15); same rule in Part C, V.3(ii) (p. 45)
Read from a copy hosted at caalley.com · Official page
10. Council for Insurance Ombudsmen
Procedure to lodge a complaint with Insurance OmbudsmanAccessed 2026-10-09 · Cited at: cioins.co.in/Procedure/Index, steps 2-3
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.
Read next
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