The Insurance Ombudsman adjudicates disputes between policyholders and insurers, free of charge. It is run by the Council for Insurance Ombudsmen (cioins.co.in).
What it can do
- Hear complaints about claim rejection, partial settlement, delay, premium disputes, mis-selling, and policy servicing.
- Since the Insurance Ombudsman (Amendment) Rules, 2021 (notified 2 March 2021), its remit also covers deficiencies in service by insurance agents, brokers and other intermediaries, and it can pass an award against a broker.
- Pass an award that is binding on the insurer.
- Award up to ₹50 lakh (raised from thirty by the Insurance Ombudsman (Amendment) Rules, 2023, G.S.R. 828(E), 9 November 2023), including relevant expenses — Rule 17(3) proviso (ii).
- That figure caps the AWARD; it does not by itself bar a larger claim from being heard. The Kerala High Court (Division Bench, W.A. No. 2121 of 2023, 5 September 2024) and the Madras High Court (W.P. No. 18062 of 2021, 18 April 2024) have held that this proviso limits what the Ombudsman may award, not which complaints it may entertain.
Eligibility and time limits
- First raise a written grievance with the insurer.
- You can approach the Ombudsman after the insurer rejects the complaint, does not reply within one month, or gives an unsatisfactory reply.
- File within one year of the insurer's rejection or final reply.
- The same dispute must not already be pending in a court, consumer forum, or arbitration.
How to file
File in writing to the Ombudsman office for your jurisdiction, or online at cioins.co.in (electronic filing and online tracking were introduced by the 2021 amendment; rule 14(2) also accepts a complaint by e-mail). The official form is Annexure VI-A, which includes an a–e declaration; Annexure VI-B is the consent-to-mediation letter.
The 18 offices and the territory each covers
Ahmedabad — Gujarat, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu. Bengaluru — Karnataka. Bhopal — Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh. Bhubaneswar — Odisha. Chandigarh — Punjab, Haryana (excluding Gurugram, Faridabad, Sonepat and Bahadurgarh), Himachal Pradesh, Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh & Chandigarh. Chennai — Tamil Nadu, Puducherry Town and Karaikal (which are part of Puducherry). Delhi — Delhi & following Districts of Haryana: Gurugram, Faridabad, Sonepat & Bahadurgarh. Guwahati — Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Tripura. Hyderabad — Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Yanam and part of Union Territory of Puducherry. Jaipur — Rajasthan. Kochi — Kerala, Lakshadweep, Mahe: a part of Union Territory of Puducherry. Kolkata — West Bengal, Sikkim, Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Lucknow — Districts of Uttar Pradesh: Lalitpur, Jhansi, Mahoba, Hamirpur, Banda, Chitrakoot, Allahabad, Mirzapur, Sonbhadra, Fatehpur, Pratapgarh, Jaunpur, Varanasi, Gazipur, Jalaun, Kanpur, Lucknow, Unnao, Sitapur, Lakhimpur, Bahraich, Barabanki, Raebareli, Sravasti, Gonda, Faizabad, Amethi, Kaushambi, Balrampur, Basti, Ambedkarnagar, Sultanpur, Maharajgang, Santkabirnagar, Azamgarh, Kushinagar, Gorakhpur, Deoria, Mau, Ghazipur, Chandauli, Ballia, Sidharathnagar. Mumbai — List of wards under Mumbai Metropolitan Region; excluding wards in: Mumbai – i.e M/E, M/W, N, S and T (covered under Office of Insurance Ombudsman, Thane) and excluding areas of Navi Mumbai. Noida — State of Uttarakhand and the following Districts of Uttar Pradesh: Agra, Aligarh, Bagpat, Bareilly, Bijnor, Budaun, Bulandshahr, Etah, Kannauj, Mainpuri, Mathura, Meerut, Moradabad, Muzaffarnagar, Oraiyya, Pilibhit, Etawah, Farrukhabad, Firozabad, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Ghaziabad, Hardoi, Shahjahanpur, Hapur, Shamli, Rampur, Kashganj, Sambhal, Amroha, Hathras, Kanshiramnagar, Saharanpur. Patna — Bihar, Jharkhand. Pune — State of Goa and State of Maharashtra excluding: areas of Navi Mumbai, Thane district, Palghar District, Raigad district & Mumbai Metropolitan Region. Thane — Area of Navi Mumbai, Thane District, Raigad District, Palghar District and wards of Mumbai: M/East, M/West, N, S and T.
Exact territorial splits and current addresses/emails should be confirmed at cioins.co.in.
Source: Insurance Ombudsman Rules, 2017, as amended by the Insurance Ombudsman (Amendment) Rules, 2021 (2 March 2021) and the Insurance Ombudsman (Amendment) Rules, 2023 (G.S.R. 828(E), 9 November 2023); Kerala High Court (Division Bench), W.A. No. 2121 of 2023, 5 September 2024; Madras High Court, W.P. No. 18062 of 2021, 18 April 2024; cioins.co.in. Last reviewed 2026-10-26.