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IRDAI rules put a clock on your insurer. A life insurance death claim must be settled within 15 days (45 days if it needs an investigation). A health claim that is not cashless must be settled within 15 days. If the insurer misses the deadline, it must add interest. Below: how many days each kind of claim gets, when the clock starts, and what happens if the insurer is late.
Where do these deadlines come from?
They are set out in IRDAI’s Master Circular on Protection of Policyholders’ Interests (5 September 2024), which gives separate claim timelines for life, health and general insurance. They apply to every insurer, whatever its name. Older articles may show different numbers; those can be old rules.
Life insurance: how many days?
| Type of claim | Insurer’s deadline |
|---|---|
| Death claim, no investigation needed | 15 days from the date the claim is intimated |
| Death claim that needs investigation | 45 days from the date the claim is intimated |
| Surrender or partial withdrawal | 7 days from receiving the request |
| Maturity, survival benefit, annuity, income benefit | On the due date |
(Circular pages 107-108.) This part of the circular does not define what “warranting investigation” means. Ask the insurer in writing which category your claim is in.
Health insurance: how many days?
| Situation | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Cashless treatment approval (hospital’s request) | Immediately, and not more than one hour |
| Final approval at discharge | Within 3 hours of the hospital’s request |
| Non-cashless (reimbursement) claim | 15 days from the date the claim is submitted |
(Circular pages 120-121.) If discharge is delayed beyond 3 hours, the extra amount the hospital charges must be borne by the insurer from its shareholders’ fund. The circular also says that after a health claim is intimated, the insurer or TPA must collect the required documents from the hospital, and the policyholder is not to be asked to submit them.
General insurance: motor, home and others
Here a surveyor assesses the loss. According to the circular (pages 133-134):
- If the loss is ₹50,000 or more (motor) or ₹1 lakh or more (other policies), a registered surveyor must survey it
- The surveyor must be assigned within 24 hours of the claim being reported, and the insurer must tell you the details immediately
- The surveyor must give the report within 15 days of assignment. For each day of delay beyond that, ₹500 is payable to the claimant
- The insurer must decide on the claim within 7 days of receiving the survey report, or once 15 days have passed since the surveyor was assigned, whichever is earlier (this deadline does not apply to property policies written on a reinstatement-value basis)
For smaller claims that need no survey, we did not find a separate number-of-days deadline in this part of the circular. For those, check your policy document and the insurer’s information.
What if the deadline is missed?
The rule is the same for life, health and general insurance: if the claim is not settled within the specified time, the insurer must pay interest at the bank rate plus 2%, from the date it received the claim intimation until the date of payment. The insurer must pay this on its own, along with the claim amount. You do not have to ask for it.
A worked example
Lakshmi from Guntur is admitted to a hospital and pays ₹60,000 herself (no cashless). On 3 March she intimates the claim and submits all documents for reimbursement. The insurer pays on 12 April. (This is an imagined example to explain the idea; dates, amounts and the interest rate are for illustration only.)
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Deadline | 3 March + 15 days = 18 March |
| Date of payment | 12 April (25 days after the deadline) |
| Period for interest | 3 March to 12 April = 40 days |
| Interest (assuming bank rate + 2% comes to 8% a year, for the example) | ₹60,000 × 8% × 40 ÷ 365 ≈ ₹526 |
The bank rate is a rate announced by the RBI and it changes, so 8% is only an example. The actual interest depends on the rate on the relevant dates.
When does the clock start?
- You must tell the insurer about the claim as early as possible: online, through the agent or branch, the call centre, the TPA (health), or the hospital where that facility exists.
- The circular says no claim may be rejected or closed for want of documents or for late intimation.
- For life claims the clock runs from the date of claim intimation; for health reimbursement, from the date the claim is submitted. Keep the receipt or email as proof of the date.
If the claim is rejected
If a health claim is rejected or only partly paid, the insurer must explain in detail, referring to the exact terms of your policy document. A health claim cannot be rejected without the approval of the insurer’s Product Management Committee or its Claims Review Committee. For what to do next, see Insurance claim rejected? What to do and how to complain.
Key terms
| Term | Simple meaning |
|---|---|
| Claim intimation | Telling the insurer that a claim event has happened |
| TAT (turn-around time) | The time the insurer has to finish a task |
| Bank rate | A rate announced by the RBI, used as the base for late-payment interest |
| Surveyor | A registered expert who assesses the loss (general insurance) |
| TPA | A third-party administrator the insurer appoints to handle health claims |
Common myths and facts
| Myth | Fact |
|---|---|
| “Claims take months, that’s normal” | The rule says 15 or 45 days for life death claims and 15 days for health reimbursement |
| “If it is late, I must ask for interest” | The insurer must pay it on its own |
| “One missing document is enough to reject a claim” | The circular says no claim may be rejected for want of documents |
| “Cashless approval can take days” | Approval must be given immediately, within one hour |
What to check
- Do you have proof of the date you intimated or submitted the claim (receipt, email, reference number)?
- Which type is your claim (life death, health cashless or reimbursement, motor)? Find its deadline in the tables above.
- Work out the date the deadline ends and note it on a calendar.
- If the deadline passes, ask the insurer in writing, and mention the interest. If it is still not resolved, follow the steps in the complaint article.
- If the insurer asks for more documents, ask whether they relate directly to your claim.
Sources
- IRDAI: Master Circular on Protection of Policyholders’ Interests (Ref: IRDAI/PP&GR/CIR/MISC/117/9/2024, 5 September 2024): life claim timelines and interest (pages 107-108); health cashless 1 hour, discharge 3 hours, 15-day reimbursement and rejection rules (pages 120-121); general insurance surveyor timelines (pages 133-134)
The source above was checked on 22 October 2026. We found no newer IRDAI circular changing it in IRDAI’s circulars list as of that date. Last updated: 22 October 2026.