Faced an unfair insurance claim rejection or policy mis-selling? Finance Ministry explains what to do next

The Department of Financial Services (DFS), Ministry of Finance, on Friday, August 14, 2026, released a guideline for insurance policyholders, through which they can raise complaints against unfair claim rejections, delays, mis-selling or other service-related issues and seek faster resolutions.

"As insurance adoption accelerates across India, navigating the customer Grievance Redressal Mechanism has become a vital skill for policyholders. To ensure financial security, a clear understanding of the established regulatory grievance channels and recent customer statistics is critical for every policyholder," the DFS said in a press release.

The body also said that the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) mandates a strict, time-bound process for resolving these issues.

How to can policyholders raise complaints?

The department said that customers facing unfair claim rejections, delays, mis-selling or other service-related issues are advised to follow the defined escalation path mentioned below:

Insurer level:

Aggrieved or dissatisfied policyholders can raise their complaints with the dedicated grievance redressal officer (GRO) of the insurer. Every office of the insurer is mandated to designate one of its officials as the GRO.

Further, every insurer also sets up a Policyholder Protection, Grievance Redressal and Claims Monitoring Committee (PPGR & CM Committee), which is the board-level committee that is tasked with ensuring efficient and effective redressal of grievances raised by people, the release said.

DHS also stated that every grievance received either through a digital interface, direct correspondence or the call centre of the insurer is registered in the Complaints Management System (CMS) of the insurer.

The CMS of insurers and the Bima Bharosa Portal are integrated. It is mandatory for insurers to acknowledge the policyholder's complaint immediately and provide a resolution within 14 days.

IRDAI’s Bhima Bharosa portal

Complainants can register and monitor the redressal of grievances by logging into the Bima Bharosa Portal, which is an integrated portal for monitoring policyholder grievances across the insurance industry by the IRDAI, according to the official press release.

Policyholders who have complaints against insurers are required to first approach the complaints or grievance redressal cell of the insurer concerned.

What to do if you don't receive a response?

If you do not receive a response from the insurer within 14 days, or are dissatisfied with the response of the company, then you can approach the grievance redressal cell in the Policyholders’ Protection & Grievance Redressal Department of the IRDAI.

Policyholders can log in to the official IRDAI Bima Bharosa Portal through this direct link: https://bimabharosa.irdai.gov.in/.

The DFS further said that citizens can lodge complaints via the toll-free helpline numbers 155255 or 1800-4254-732, or via email at complaints@irdai.gov.in.

Complaints sent through physical letters or emails are also registered in Bima Bharosa Portal. The call centre run by the authority offers multi-lingual support and operates in 12 languages, the release noted.