Ladies and Gentlemen,
Distinguished guests, esteemed colleagues from IRDAI, valued partners from the industry, and fellow citizens - Bima Lokpal Day is an important occasion to reflect on our shared responsibility to uphold fairness, strengthen policyholder protection, and reinforce trust in India’s insurance ecosystem.
At its core, insurance is not just a product — it is a pledge of protection, a promise of dignity in times of difficulty. In today’s uncertain world, that promise matters more than ever.
The Journey So Far
The journey of India’s insurance sector has been transformative.
The industry has seen consistent growth — in reach, in product diversity, and most importantly, in its ability to serve.
In FY 2024-25, the insurance sector collected premiums of over ₹11.93 lakh crore. Of this, life insurance accounted for nearly ₹8.86 lakh crore, with general and health insurance contributing significantly as well.
During 2024-25, General and Health Insurers have settled 3.26 crore health insurance claims and paid an amount of ₹94,247crore towards settlement of health insurance claims.
Equally important, insurers honoured claims worth nearly ₹8.36 lakh crore in FY 2024-25 — a clear signal that the system is not just collecting premiums, but delivering on its promises when it matters most.
Still, Some Distance to Cover
Despite this progress, we must be candid about the gaps that remain.
Insurance penetration continues to remain low. Though expanding but the number of people in the insurance fold needs to grow faster.
This suggests we must do more to deepen the reach of insurance, especially in underserved rural areas, among informal sector workers, and among women.
In a country as vast and diverse as ours, we need faster progress to meet the vision of ‘Insurance for All’ by 2047.
On Grievance Redressal: Trust is Earned
One of the most important signals of trust in any sector is how well it listens — and how fairly it responds.
Behind every complaint is a person — often someone dealing with illness, loss, or distress. Our aim must not just be to resolve complaints, but to prevent them. That is where good governance, transparent communication, and responsible selling practices come in.
In the past year, 2.57 lakh policyholder grievances were registered through our Bima Bharosa platform. Encouragingly, the vast majority of these were resolved — the industry’s resolution rate stands above 99%. But we must not let comfort with averages make us complacent.
Supporting Redressal: The Role of Bima Lokpal
Alongside IRDAI’s efforts and insurers’ internal mechanisms, the Bima Lokpal institution — India’s network of Insurance Ombudsmen — continues to play a vital role in upholding policyholder rights.
As you know, the institution of Insurance Ombudsman, over the years the institution has evolved into a significant platform for grievance redressal. On this occasion, we take the opportunity to reflect on the enormous responsibility vested on all of us for securing fair and equitable treatment for all our policyholders and how we can strengthen our systems to meet growing expectations of customers.
Last year witnessed the opening of the 18th Office of Insurance Ombudsman at Thane with jurisdiction areas carved out from Office of Insurance Ombudsman, Pune and office of insurance Ombudsman, Mumbai. With 18 offices across the country, the Bima Lokpal serves as an independent and cost-free forum for resolving disputes. Whether it's a delayed claim, policy servicing issue, or unfair denial, the Ombudsman system ensures that grievances are addressed without the need for lengthy litigation. Complaints to Ombudsmen rose in 2023–24 (from 52,300 in FY 22-23 to 53,230 in FY 23-24), indicating growing awareness, utilization, and faith in the Insurance Ombudsman framework. Out of the complaints received, 54 % pertained to the Health Insurance Sector. Around 33000 hearings were held during the year, mostly online, for recommendations and Awards. Online registration of complaints also improved substantially.
Let me take this opportunity to sincerely acknowledge and commend the tireless work of the Ombudsmen across the country. Their role in protecting policyholders — particularly the vulnerable and less-informed — has been instrumental in reinforcing public trust in insurance. Their balanced, empathetic and fair approach to dispute resolution reflects the very spirit of justice that our sector aspires to.
This institution is not just about resolving complaints — it’s about restoring trust, especially for those who may feel unheard in a complex system. We are committed to strengthening its reach, efficiency, and visibility in the coming years, so that every policyholder, regardless of location or literacy, knows that they have a platform to turn to.
Alongside complaint resolution, it will also be useful to undertake analysis of grievances which will give insights into trends and patterns. Early warning signals can be detected through predictive analysis. Insurance companies can make use of such precious insights and take pre-emptive measures to reduce the incidence of complaints. One of the major challenges today before the Insurance Ombudsman is the steady rise in the volume of complaints. With the insurance sector in an accelerated growth path the volumes will keep growing. Along with higher levels of technology adoption by the Insurance Ombudsman system, proactive steps to curb incidences of complaints need to be taken by insurance companies.
The internal grievance redressal system of the insurance companies needs to be robust, responsive and reassuring. I would request all insurance companies to periodically review the efficiency of their grievance redressal mechanism and make necessary changes as and when required. Feedback from Insurance Ombudsman can be a valuable input for this exercise.
Increasing awareness of the Insurance Ombudsman system is another area which requires the collective efforts of the stakeholders. The role of the Insurance Ombudsman will fully fructify only when more and more policyholders become aware of this channel. Comprehensive information about procedure to reach out to the Insurance Ombudsman needs to be available to policyholder in easy and accessible formats. Surveys can be conducted to assess the knowledge of the policyholders regarding availability of this mechanism. Ways and means to simplify the process of filing complaint also need to be explored.
In order to realize our vision for insurance for all by 2047, it's very important to ensure fair treatment to the policyholders, proper disclosures of facts, responsible business conduct by insurers and intermediaries, objective and adequate advice to the policyholders, protection of assets and data, including from fraud and abuse, adequate complaints handling, and redressal mechanisms. The role of the ombudsman becomes paramount to build the trust on which this framework is built on. By quick, fast, and just awards, the insurance ombudsman can bring the trust of the policyholders in the insurance system and insurance as a product and create a positive impact on the entire industry.
We are also encouraging insurers to appoint internal ombudsmen — a step that will bring faster and more accountable resolutions closer to the policyholder. The Authority has already issued exposure draft and the comments received in this regard are under examination. The Authority, after due consideration to the comments, shall be issuing the necessary guidelines in this regard.
Improving Claims Experience
Let me also speak about claims — the moment of truth in any insurance journey.
In health insurance, we continue to see gaps: while the number of claims settled is high, the amount settled, especially in full, is sometimes lower than expected. This is an area we are monitoring closely.
Our expectation from insurers is clear — prompt, fair, and transparent claim settlement. Anything less weakens the trust on which our industry is built.
Reforms and the Road Ahead
We are pushing forward on several fronts:
We are also refining our regulatory approach to be both facilitative and firm — easing the path for good players while holding all accountable to high standards.
In Closing
On this Bima Lokpal Day, I want to leave you with this thought:
Insurance is not a transaction — it is a relationship. A relationship built on faith, serviced with empathy, and honoured with integrity.
To the insurers: let us never lose sight of the people behind the policies.
To the intermediaries and agents: your role is not just to sell, but also to guide.
To the policyholders: your trust is our greatest responsibility — and we are working every day to earn and uphold it.
Let us walk this journey together — towards a more secure, more resilient, and more inclusive India.
Friends, insurance is all about people, promises and trust. Every complaint resolved is trust restored. On this day, let us rededicate ourselves to ensuring that every insurance promise is honoured with fairness, speed and empathy, as we progress in our journey towards realizing the vision of insurance for all by 2047
Thank you.
Jai Hind.