What is Bima Bharosa, and when should I use it?

Bima Bharosa is IRDAI's online grievance system for insurance complaints, earlier known as IGMS. A complaint you register there goes into your insurer's own system and IRDAI's records, and if the insurer's answer does not satisfy you, you can escalate it for IRDAI's review. Use it when your insurer has not resolved your complaint, or to put a complaint to the insurer in a way IRDAI can see. IRDAI's pages describe it as a route to the insurer and to IRDAI's review, not as a place where claims are decided, and it is separate from the Insurance Ombudsman.

IRDAI set up its Integrated Grievance Management System, now called Bima Bharosa, in 2010. IRDAI uses it to monitor how insurers across the industry dispose of complaints, and policyholders use it to register a complaint online and follow its status.^{[1, 2]}

How a complaint moves through the portal

1. 1

   You register

   You register on bimabharosa.irdai.gov.in with your name and a mobile number verified by OTP. The registration steps are set out separately.^[2]

2. 2

   It goes to the insurer

   The complaint flows into the insurer's own system and into IRDAI's repository, and a token number is generated for tracking it.^[3]

3. 3

   The insurer responds

   Insurers must integrate their grievance portals with Bima Bharosa so that a complaint's status is mirrored in real time, and the insurer's final resolution appears in your Bima Bharosa login.^{[4, 3]}

4. 4

   You can ask IRDAI to review it

   If you are not satisfied with the insurer's resolution, you can send the complaint for IRDAI's review for possible violation of regulations. What passes between you, the insurer and IRDAI is visible to you.^[5]

Do I have to complain to the insurer first?

In substance, yes. IRDAI's grievance page says policyholders are required to first approach the insurer's complaints or grievance cell, and Bima Bharosa describes itself as a gateway to register complaints with insurance companies first and, if need be, escalate them to IRDAI's grievance cells. So a complaint registered on Bima Bharosa is, in the first place, a complaint to your insurer.^{[6, 5]}

If you may later go to the Insurance Ombudsman, also keep proof of a direct written complaint to the insurer or its Grievance Redressal Officer. The Ombudsman Rules require a representation to the insurer in writing, by email or online, and no official text we have checked says whether a Bima Bharosa complaint alone meets that.^[7]

When it is the right next step

• Your insurer has not resolved your complaint within two weeks, or you are unhappy with its resolution: IRDAI's FAQ points you to its Grievance Redressal Cell, including through Bima Bharosa.^[3]
• The complaint is about an intermediary, such as an agent, broker, TPA or web aggregator, or about an entity that is not registered: the Bima Bharosa form has an option for each.^[2]
• The insurer is not following the rules: no acknowledgement, no reasons, or no reply within the timeline. IRDAI's review is framed around possible violation of regulations.^[5]
• You want the complaint, the insurer's replies and IRDAI's comments in one place you can see.^[5]

What it is not

• Not a claims court: IRDAI describes its review as a check for possible violation of regulations, and its grievance cell as taking grievances up with the insurer. Its pages do not say it decides the amount of a claim or orders one paid. See can IRDAI settle my claim.^{[5, 6]}
• Not the Insurance Ombudsman: The Ombudsman is a separate, quasi-judicial body under the Insurance Ombudsman Rules, 2017, and Bima Bharosa's own process page points to it when a complaint is not resolved.^[8]
• Not a paid service: Bima Bharosa does not ask complainants for payment of any kind, and warns against QR codes or links that claim to pay money into your account.^[9]
• Not connected to ClaimAssure: Bima Bharosa is IRDAI's own system. ClaimAssure has no access to it: you register and track your complaint yourself on the official site.^[1]

IGMS, the old name

Older documents call the system IGMS. IRDAI's September 2024 master circular superseded its 2010 grievance guidelines and the order that implemented IGMS, so rely on the 2024 circulars rather than those. If you have an old IGMS complaint number, see tracking a Bima Bharosa complaint.^[4]

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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