Insurance Claims, Mis-Selling Account For Most Insurance Complaints In FY25, Reveals Irdai Annual Report

Grievance redressal remained a focus area for the insurance regulator in FY2024–25, with insurers handling over two and a half lakh complaints during the year, according to data in the annual report of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai).

A total of 2,57,790 grievances were registered on the Bima Bharosa portal during the year. Of these, 1,20,429 complaints were related to life insurance business, while 1,37,361 grievances were linked to general and health insurance.

Life insurers had more than 76 crore policies and lives in force during the year. General and health insurers together covered over 259 crore policies and lives. Based on this, life insurance recorded 15.72 grievances per lakh policies and lives, while the general and health segment reported 5.29 grievances per lakh.

Most Complaints Closed Within The Year

Most complaints were closed during the year. Insurers attended to 2,47,630 grievances, while 10,160 complaints remained pending as of March 31, 2025.

In the life insurance segment, 1,19,875 complaints were attended to out of 1,20,429 grievances received during the year. 554 complaints were pending at the end of FY25. General and health insurers resolved 1,27,755 grievances, while 9,606 complaints were pending.

Claims And Mis-selling Drive Disputes

Claims-related issues continued to form a large part of grievances. In life insurance, 33,280 complaints were related to claims, against 26.68 lakh claims reported during the year. In general and health insurance, 88,841 grievances were linked to claims, compared with 11.26 crore claims reported in FY25.

The report also showed an increase in complaints related to unfair business practices in life insurance. Such grievances rose from 23,335 in FY2023–24 to 26,667 in FY2024–25. Their share in total life insurance complaints increased from 19.33 per cent to 22.14 per cent.

Apart from complaints registered directly with insurers and on the Bima Bharosa portal, policyholders also approached government grievance platforms. During the year, 14,156 insurance-related grievances were registered through central government channels and referred to Irdai. 14,113 complaints were disposed of, while 332 cases remained pending at the end of the year.

Irdai uses grievance data as part of its supervisory process to monitor insurer conduct. Claims handling and sales practices remained under scrutiny during the year.

Most complaints were disposed of during the year, though claim settlements and sales issues continued to generate grievances.