Motor claim stuck after the survey — how long can the insurer take?

The 2024 master circular sets a short chain of time limits for motor claims: a surveyor allocated within 24 hours of your report, the survey report within 15 days of allocation, and the insurer's decision within 7 days of the report or after 15 days from allocation, whichever is earlier. A late survey report carries a daily amount payable to you, and a claim not settled in time carries interest. Write down each date, then ask the insurer in writing where the claim stands.

A survey by a registered surveyor is compulsory for a motor loss that "exceeds Rs 50,000/- or more", in the circular's words. The circular puts the duty on the insurer: "It shall be the duty of the insurer to obtain the survey report within the specified time limits."^[1]

If the surveyor never came

1. 1

   Note when you reported

   The date and time you told the insurer, and the claim number you were given.

2. 2

   Ask who the surveyor is

   The insurer is to tell you the surveyor's details, role and duties immediately on allocation. Ask in writing for the name and the allocation date.^[1]

3. 3

   Keep your own record

   Photographs of the damage, the garage's estimate, and the date the vehicle reached the garage.

4. 4

   Check your policy's claim conditions

   Before repairs begin, read what your wording requires, so a delay by the insurer is not turned into a breach by you.

If the report is in but there is no decision

Ask the insurer for the date it received the survey report and when it will decide, and ask for a copy of the report. The circular makes it the insurer's duty to obtain the report within the time limit, so a late report is the insurer's delay to explain.^[1]

If you disagree with the survey assessment itself, rather than the delay, that is a different dispute, to raise with the insurer separately and in writing.

If you are given a longer survey timeline, ask which rule it comes from. For retail policies, quote the 2024 circular's figures.^[1]

Escalating

Write to the insurer's grievance officer with your dates; an insurer should resolve a complaint within 14 days. When the claim is paid late, interest at bank rate plus 2 percent runs from intimation. Delay in settlement beyond the time in the regulations is a ground the Insurance Ombudsman can hear, once your written complaint has been rejected, answered unsatisfactorily or left unanswered for a month; see whether you can go to the Ombudsman.^{[1, 2]}

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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