How long does an insurance company have to reply to a complaint?

Under IRDAI's 2024 master circular, the insurer must acknowledge your complaint immediately and should resolve it within 14 days, giving reasons that refer to the policy terms if it does not accept it. If you have had no reply within one month of the insurer receiving your written complaint, the Insurance Ombudsman Rules allow a complaint to the Ombudsman, subject to their other conditions. Claim decisions have their own, separate time limits.

If the insurer writes to you asking for something, answer quickly and keep proof that you did, so that the record shows you were not the cause of any delay.

Why official pages say 14 days, 15 days, two weeks or 30 days

You will see different figures. Bima Bharosa's home page says a complaint will be attended to within 14 days, while its FAQ says an insurer should resolve a complaint within 15 days. The Council for Insurance Ombudsmen's procedure page says an insurer should deal with a complaint within 30 days. This page follows IRDAI's master circular, which IRDAI issued to insurers under its 2024 Regulations and which says 14 days, and treats one month as the Insurance Ombudsman's 'no reply' condition rather than as the insurer's deadline.^{[4, 5, 6, 1, 3]}

When the clock starts

Count from the day the insurer received your complaint. That is why a dated acknowledgement matters: IRDAI's Bima Bharosa FAQ tells policyholders to take a written acknowledgement with the date, and a complaint registered on Bima Bharosa shows a target date as soon as it is saved. IRDAI's policyholder site counts the insurer's two weeks from receipt of the complaint too.^{[5, 7, 2]}

A reply is not the same as a yes

Resolution within 14 days means a decision, not necessarily the one you asked for. If the insurer does not accept your complaint, its resolution should give reasons with specific reference to the policy's terms and conditions, and its resolution letter must give the name and address of the Insurance Ombudsman you can go to next. A one-line 'your complaint is closed' does neither, and you can say so.^[1]

Complaint deadlines are not claim deadlines

The 14 days apply to a complaint. Claims run on their own clocks: for example, IRDAI's master circular says a health claim other than cashless must be settled within 15 days of submission, and a death claim that needs no investigation within 15 days of intimation. See health claim settlement time and the full table of insurance complaint time limits.^{[8, 9]}

If the 14 days have passed

Send a short reminder to the Grievance Redressal Officer quoting your reference, and use any escalation contacts the insurer lists. IRDAI's FAQ says you can then approach IRDAI, including through Bima Bharosa, and once a month has passed since the insurer received your complaint without any reply, the Insurance Ombudsman route opens, subject to its other conditions. What to do when the insurer goes silent sets out the steps.^{[5, 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.

More on insurance complaints