Can a family member, agent or lawyer file an insurance complaint for me?

It depends on where the complaint goes. The insurer hears the policyholder, a nominee, an assignee or any beneficiary; IRDAI's grievance cell entertains complaints only from the insured or the claimant, not from advocates, agents or other third parties writing for them. The Insurance Ombudsman takes complaints from the person aggrieved, personally or through their legal heirs, nominee or assignee. ClaimAssure never files for anyone: the complaint goes in your own name.

Helping a family member without filing for them

You can help an elderly parent or a relative a great deal: gather the documents, draft the letter, and sit with them while they send it. What changes the position is whose name the complaint goes in. Send it from the policyholder's or claimant's own email or post, signed by them, so the reply comes to them and the record is theirs.

On Bima Bharosa, registration is verified by an OTP to a mobile number, and complaints are later tracked through that number. Registering with the complainant's own number keeps the complaint and its updates with them.^[5]

When the policyholder has died, a nominee or other beneficiary of the policy counts as a 'complainant' under IRDAI's definition, and the Insurance Ombudsman Rules let a complaint be made through legal heirs or a nominee.^{[1, 3]}

Agents, brokers and paid consultants

IRDAI's grievance cell will not entertain a complaint written for you by an agent or any other third party. Be careful with anyone who offers to 'file' an insurance complaint for a fee: Bima Bharosa itself warns that it never asks complainants for payment of any kind.^{[2, 6]}

Lawyers

The Council for Insurance Ombudsmen says the Insurance Ombudsman Rules make no provision for engaging a lawyer. For a court or consumer commission you may want legal advice; ClaimAssure does not give legal advice. See whether you need a lawyer for the Insurance Ombudsman.^[4]

Companies and other organisations

The Council for Insurance Ombudsmen's FAQ limits the Ombudsman to individual policyholders, sole proprietorships and micro enterprises on personal lines, with group-policy members included where the claim is payable to the individual. Partnership firms, companies and other bodies are outside it, though a company that holds a policy can still complain to the insurer as the policyholder.^{[4, 1]}

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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