Your Health Claim Is Delayed. The Clock Is Already Running.

On paper, a delayed health claim can look like no one's fault — repeated document queries, partial responses, and unclear escalation paths. The 2024 IRDAI Master Circular cuts through it twice. First: 'No claim shall be rejected or closed for want of documents or for delayed intimation of claim.' Second, and this is the one worth knowing: if the claim is not settled within the specified timeline, interest at bank rate plus 2% runs from the date the insurer received intimation of the claim, and the circular says the insurer must pay it suo-moto — on its own initiative, without you asking.

A follow-up query can make it look as if the clock restarts. It does not. The Master Circular anchors your interest to the date the insurer RECEIVED YOUR INTIMATION — not to the day the file was finally judged complete. Each follow-up query resets the perception of the timeline, not the entitlement. Note the date you first intimated the claim and count from there.

The right move is to break the loop. Submit every document in a single indexed bundle with a covering letter that lists each item. Ask the insurer for a consolidated query list, not piecemeal questions. If queries keep coming, escalate to the Grievance Redressal Officer with a TAT-violation citation.

BimaHaq's free complaint letter templates include a grievance letter to the insurer's Grievance Redressal Officer that covers a delayed claim. Send it in your own name, and add a line asking the insurer to confirm in writing the date it received your intimation — the date the interest runs from. If the grievance does not resolve it, BimaHaq's Bima Bharosa Filing service can prepare your IRDAI complaint and guide you as you register it on the portal; that step is optional, and the Insurance Ombudsman does not require it.