Claim Rejected? Govt Spells Out Two-Step Grievance Redressal Route for Policyholders
Claim Rejected: Policyholders facing claim rejection can follow a structured two-step route to raise and escalate their grievances. The process aims to make insurance complaint resolution simpler and more accessible.
Claim Rejected: A rejected insurance claim does not have to be the end of the road for policyholders. The government has outlined a two-step grievance redressal process to help resolve disputes.
Claim Rejected: The Department of Financial Services (DFS), Ministry of Finance, on August 14, 2026, issued a detailed explainer on the grievance redressal mechanism available to insurance policyholders in India, outlining a two-tier escalation process involving insurers and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI).
The release states that as insurance adoption accelerates across the country, understanding the grievance redressal mechanism has become essential for policyholders, and that a clear grasp of regulatory channels is critical for ensuring financial security.
Step 1:Claim Rejected Approach the Insurer’s Grievance Redressal Officer
According to the release, IRDAI mandates that every insurer designate a Grievance Redressal Officer (GRO) at each of its offices, who acts as the nodal officer for handling policyholder complaints. Insurers are also required to constitute a Board-level Policyholder Protection, Grievance Redressal and Claims Monitoring Committee (PPGR & CM Committee) to oversee efficient and effective grievance resolution.
Grievances lodged through digital interfaces, direct correspondence, or an insurer’s call centre are logged into that insurer’s Complaints Management System (CMS), which is integrated with IRDAI’s Bima Bharosa portal. Per the release, insurers must acknowledge every complaint immediately and provide a resolution within 14 days.
Issues flagged in the release as grounds for a grievance include unfair claim rejections, delays in claim settlement, mis-selling, and other service-related complaints.
Step 2: Claim Rejected Escalate to IRDAI via the Bima Bharosa Portal
Bima Bharosa functions as IRDAI’s integrated portal for monitoring policyholder grievances across the insurance industry. The release specifies that policyholders must first approach the insurer’s own grievance cell before escalating a complaint to IRDAI.
If a policyholder does not receive a response within a reasonable period, or remains dissatisfied with the insurer’s resolution, they can escalate the matter to the Grievance Redressal Cell within IRDAI’s Policyholders’ Protection & Grievance Redressal Department. Complaints can be registered and tracked directly on the Bima Bharosa portal.
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Claim Rejected: Alternative Channels: Helpline, Email and Physical Letters
The release adds that citizens also have the option to lodge complaints through IRDAI’s toll-free helpline numbers — 155255 and 1800-4254-732 — or via email at complaints@irdai.gov.in. Complaints submitted by physical letter or email are likewise recorded on the Bima Bharosa portal. IRDAI’s call centre offers support across 12 languages.
Claim Rejected: Background: What Is Bima Bharosa
Bima Bharosa began as the Integrated Grievance Management System (IGMS), which IRDAI first implemented in 2010 to build a central repository of industry-wide policyholder grievance data and monitor turnaround times mandated under policyholder protection regulations. The platform was rebranded as Bima Bharosa in 2022, giving policyholders a single online gateway to register complaints against insurers and intermediaries and track their status in real time.
Under the process, a complaint first goes to the concerned insurer. If unresolved, it can be escalated to IRDAI. If the issue remains unresolved even after IRDAI’s intervention, the policyholder has the further option of approaching the Insurance Ombudsman.
Beyond serving as a complaint registration tool, Bima Bharosa gives IRDAI centralised oversight of market conduct across the insurance industry, since policyholder grievances are treated as a key indicator of how insurers are performing on service standards. The portal also includes a feedback mechanism — once an insurer issues its final resolution on an escalated complaint, the complainant is given the option to record feedback on that outcome, adding a layer of accountability to the process.
The portal operates on a web-based interface designed to be accessible in real time from any location, and it is built to capture complaints across multiple formats — not just those filed online, but also those received in physical letter form, via email, or through voice calls routed to the IRDAI Grievance Call Centre (IGCC).
Each grievance registered on the platform is assigned a unique token or complaint ID, which the policyholder can use to track the status of their case at every stage of resolution. Notably, IRDAI’s framework restricts who can file a complaint through this channel: only the insured person or the claimant themselves can register a grievance, and complaints submitted on their behalf by advocates, agents, or other third parties are not entertained by the Grievance Redressal Cell.
