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How to complain in IRDA?

Table of Contents

What is IRDA?

In India, every sector has to be managed by a Government body to administer its work and growth. For insurance, the Government body is the Insurance Regulatory Development Authority of India, known as IRDA/IRDAI, which sets the rules and guidelines for the insurance sector to have a smooth and uninterrupted function.

The IRDA Act of 1999 mentions the mission of IRDA as ‘to protect the interests of the policyholders, to regulate, promote and ensure orderly growth of the insurance industry and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.’

What does IRDA do?

  • To monitor and safeguard the interests of the policyholders.
  • To regulate the financial industry according to the rules and laws.
  • To solve disputes that occur between the policyholder and the insurer.
  • To control the rates offered by various insurance companies.
  • It ensures the growth of the insurance sector and its companies.
  • It specifies specific schemes, tariffs, and policies so that both the insurance company and its policyholders benefit.

Challenges faced by IRDA

  1. The biggest challenge is to grow the rural insurance sector and make the insurers aware of various policies and schemes.
  2. Some insurers lack capital. Therefore, it is a cause of concern for the IRDA to meet the stipulated solvency margin.
  3. To control risks associated with the pandemic, like the COVID-19, where insurance companies nearly starved due to lack of capital.
  4. To boost the micro-insurance sector, like life, disability, and health. These areas have less growth, inadequate schemes and programmes, and a high illiteracy rate amongst their customers.
  5. Innovation and optimizations:- The most crucial challenge faced by IRDA is to bring out new and innovative schemes that will boost the development of its sector. To bring friendly schemes and rates for its users and not go against the political ethics is still the biggest challenge for IRDA.

How to report a complaint in IRDA?

Method 1:- If one is unhappy with a particular insurance company, they can visit its Grievance Redressal Officer and file their complaint in writing, along with the necessary documents. The filed complaint has to be taken into consideration within a short period.

Method 2:- One has to keep in mind that before reaching IRDA, one must approach its insurance company first and then visit the Government Authorities. One can look at the Grievance Redressal Cell of the Consumer Affairs Department of IRDAI: Click Here.
Call the toll-free number 155255/18004254732 or mail them at complaints@irdai.gov.in.

Method 3:- Use the Integrated Grievance Management System (IGMS) to register a new complaint or track the older one https://igms.irda.gov.in/. Register yourself in the portal with valid proof, and then file a complaint against the insurance company.

Method 4:- One can make a complaint from the Consumer Education Website here: https://www.policyholder.gov.in/Grievance_Redressal_System.aspx. Click on the ‘making a claim’ option in the menu bar and make your claim regarding the sector you want.

One can send the Complaint Registration Form by downloading and filling it from here https://www.policyholder.gov.in/uploads/CEDocuments/complaintform.pdf at this address:

General Manager
Consumer Affairs Department- Grievance Redressal Cell,
Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI),
Sy.No.115/1,Financial District, Nanakramguda,
Gachibowli, Hyderabad-500032

Method 5:- Reach the civil court- If you are not satisfied with the solution provided by the insurance company, you can reach the legal insurance ombudsman (CIO:: INDEX PAGE (cioins.co.in)) or file a complaint in the civil court. But make sure to follow the hierarchy for the solution to your problem. Otherwise, it will be you who is going to be in trouble!

What is the approximate time taken by a company to solve a grievance?

Different insurance companies settle the issue every once in a while. To solve the redressal, here is the list of the approximate time taken by a company:-

Type of Service

Type of ServiceTime taken
To start the process after the applicant has filed the complaint1 day
Obtain a copy of the proposed policy2-3 days
Any service, if made1 day
Any query related to an annuity or any other value1 day
Raising or registering claims for the investigation1-2 days
Acknowledge a grievance3-4 days
Resolve a grievance15-20 days

FAQs

Where to get the contact details of the Grievance Redressal Officers?

One can get the mail IDs of the officers here https://www.irdai.gov.in/ADMINCMS/cms/NormalData_Layout.aspx?page=PageNo225&mid=14.2.

How does the grievance resolve?

Type of Service

The complaint gets registered by a unique token number.
An acknowledgment is sent to the applicant by letter to his postal address.
Integrated Grievance Management System (IGMS) receives a brief description.
The documents are then collected related to the complaint.
A two-week time is given to the insurance company to respond to the complainant after the issue gets examined.
If the complainant does not respond within eight weeks, the complaint will be closed.
If the company does not respond to the complainant, the applicant can file the complaint again or approach the insurance ombudsman.
Even if the applicant is not satisfied with the quality of the solution given, they can reach the ombudsman or the consumer court.

Whether resolution of any grievance falls under the purview of the RTI Act, 2005?

No, resolution of any grievance does not fall under the purview of the RTI Act, 2005.

File a complaint

Policy maturity issues, false commitments, delays in claims, unsatisfactory claim settlement, wrong treatment, negligence, etc are the most common insurance complaints. If you are a consumer and facing similar issues then you can file a complaint against an Insurance company using the Voxya consumer complaints forum website to get a replacement, refund, claim or compensation from the Insurance company.