What does 'repudiation' of a claim mean, and is it different from rejection?
Written for policyholders in India · Last reviewed 2026-10-10
Repudiation is the insurer's formal refusal to pay a claim, in full or in part; for your purposes it means the same as rejection, and IRDAI's own texts use both words. What matters is not the word but the reasons and the process behind them. Repudiating the policy itself — treating the contract as not binding — is a bigger step than refusing one claim, and for life policies Section 45 limits when it can be done.
'Repudiated', 'rejected' and 'disallowed' belong to the same family of decisions, and IRDAI's own texts use more than one of them: its health master circular speaks of a claim being 'repudiated or disallowed partially', and its policyholder-protection master circular of claims being 'rejected or closed'.[1, 2]
Words you may see on the letter
| Word | What it generally signals | What to look for |
|---|---|---|
| Repudiated or rejected | The claim is refused in full | The clause number and the stated ground |
| Partly disallowed or deducted | Part of the claim is refused | Each deduction and the clause behind it |
| Closed | The file has been shut | Whether it was closed for missing documents — which is not allowed on that ground alone |
| Policy repudiated or void | The insurer treats the contract itself as not binding | The ground relied on, and the evidence for it |
What the rules require of a repudiation
- Health: No claim can be repudiated without the approval of the insurer's Product Management Committee or its three-member Claims Review Committee, and the claimant must be given full details referring to the specific policy terms relied on.[1]
- Life: No claim may be repudiated without legally tenable evidence. Under Section 45 of the Insurance Act, an insurer that calls the policy in question within three years must give the grounds and materials in writing; after three years, it cannot question the policy on any ground.[5, 4]
- Motor and other general insurance: A claim cannot be repudiated, fully or partly, for a breached warranty or condition that is not relevant to the loss, or for a delay that did not increase the assessed loss.[5]
- All lines: No claim shall be rejected or closed for want of documents or for delayed intimation, and the insurer must ask for all the documents it needs at one go.[2, 3]
What to do with a repudiation letter
Find the exact ground and clause
Underline the sentence that states the reason and the clause number beside it. That is what your reply has to answer.
Check the decision process
For a health claim, you can ask the insurer to confirm that its Claims Review Committee approved the repudiation.[1]
Ask for what it relied on
Getting the documents the insurer relied on explains how.
Complain in writing
The insurer must acknowledge your complaint immediately and should resolve it within 14 days, with reasons if it does not accept it. You can also use IRDAI's Bima Bharosa portal. If the complaint is rejected or answered unsatisfactorily, or gets no reply within a month, you may be able to take it to the Insurance Ombudsman; the complaint must be made within one year of the insurer's rejection or decision or, if it never replied, of the end of one month after you sent the complaint.[6, 7]
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 (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 17(b); IRDAI Master Circular on Health Insurance Business, IRDAI/HLT/CIR/PRO/84/5/2024, 29 May 2024, Chapter I, para 17(a)
Read from a copy hosted at actuariesindia.org · Official page
2. 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 B, para V.1(ii); Section 2, Chapter V, para 22
Read from a copy hosted at taxguru.in · Official page
3. 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 23(4)
4. Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice (India Code consolidated text) – copy hosted by the International Financial Services Centres Authority
The Insurance Act, 1938 (Act No. 4 of 1938), consolidated text as on 15 April 2026Dated 2026-04-15 · Accessed 2026-10-10 · Cited at: Insurance Act, 1938, consolidated text as on 15 April 2026 (India Code), s.45(3); Insurance Act, 1938, consolidated text as on 15 April 2026 (India Code), proviso to s.45(2); Insurance Act, 1938, consolidated text as on 15 April 2026 (India Code), s.45(1)
Read from a copy hosted at ifsca.gov.in · Official page
5. 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: IRDAI Master Circular on Protection of Policyholders' Interests, IRDAI/PP&GR/CIR/MISC/117/9/2024, 5 Sep 2024, Section 1, Part A (Life), IV.6 (printed page 14); 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), V.4 para 6 (page 46 of the copy read)
Read from a copy hosted at caalley.com · Official page
6. 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: IRDAI Master Circular on Protection of Policyholders' Interests, IRDAI/PP&GR/CIR/MISC/117/9/2024, 5 Sep 2024, Section 1, Parts A/B/C, VI 2(i) 'Turnaround time for resolution of complaints/ grievance'; IRDAI Master Circular on Protection of Policyholders' Interests, IRDAI/PP&GR/CIR/MISC/117/9/2024, 5 Sep 2024, Section 1, Parts A/B/C, VI Complaints Mechanism, 1(ii)
Read from a copy hosted at caalley.com · Official page
7. 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, rule 14(3)(a)(i)-(iii); Insurance Ombudsman Rules, 2017, consolidated as amended to 9 Nov 2023, rule 14(3)(b)(i)-(ii) (limb (iii) covers the case where the insurer does not reply); Insurance Ombudsman Rules, 2017, consolidated as amended to 9 Nov 2023, rule 14(3)(b)(iii)
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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