The surveyor assessed less than your loss? The report is important — but not the final word.
Motor and property claims turn on the surveyor's figure, and insurers treat it as final. Here's why it is not conclusive — and how to put your own evidence against it.
Reviewed by the BimaHaq Insurance Grievance Desk — BimaHaq's in-house insurance-grievance team — specialists in IRDAI grievance redressal, the Insurance Ombudsman process, and policyholder rights in India. · Last reviewed 2026-08-31
A surveyor's report matters — for many general-insurance claims above a threshold a survey is required before settlement — but it is not conclusive or binding on the insurer or on a consumer forum. It is one piece of evidence that can be weighed against contrary material, and the insurer must apply its own mind rather than mechanically adopt a low or wrong assessment.
Why insurers reject on this ground
The insurer relies on the surveyor's report to cut down or reject the claim, treating the surveyor's figure as the last word on what your loss is worth.
When you can challenge it
Read Section 64UM of the Insurance Act 1938 carefully, because it does not say what it is often quoted as saying. Its proviso preserves the insurer's right 'to pay or settle any claim at any amount different from the amount assessed by the approved surveyor' — unconditionally. There is no written-reasons requirement in the section, so do not build a demand on one. What actually limits the insurer is the case law. In New India Assurance Co. Ltd. v. Pradeep Kumar (Civil Appeal No. 3253 of 2002) the Supreme Court held a surveyor's report 'is not the last and final word. It is not that sacrosanct that it cannot be departed from; it is not conclusive', and is 'neither binding upon the insurer nor insured' — a ruling re-affirmed in New India Assurance v. Mudit Roadways (Civil Appeal No. 339 of 2023). And on repeat surveys, New India Assurance v. Luxra Enterprises (2019) held the insurer 'cannot appoint a second surveyor just as a matter of course' and must specify cogent reasons — it is not free to appoint surveyor after surveyor until one gives a report that suits it. You can obtain your own repair estimate or an independent expert opinion and place it against the surveyor's — the forum weighs both, and an assessment that ignores genuine costs can be set aside.
How to fight this rejection
Get a full copy of the surveyor's report
Ask the insurer for the complete surveyor's report, not just the final figure, so you can see each head of assessment and where it under-values your loss.
Put your own estimate against it
Obtain an independent repair estimate or expert opinion covering the same items. A specific, itemised counter-estimate is what lets a forum see the surveyor's figure is too low.
Contest the specific findings
In your grievance, challenge the exact heads where the surveyor is wrong — parts wrongly depreciated, work wrongly disallowed — and note the report is not binding and can be departed from for reasons.
Raise a written grievance with the insurer's GRO
Send a dated grievance to the insurer's Grievance Redressal Officer setting out why the rejection is wrong. The insurer must acknowledge it immediately and resolve it within 14 days.
Escalate to IRDAI on Bima Bharosa
If it isn't resolved in time or the reply is unsatisfactory, register the complaint on IRDAI's Bima Bharosa portal.
Take it to the Insurance Ombudsman
Free, and the award binds the insurer. The Ombudsman can award up to ₹50 lakh, and the Council for Insurance Ombudsmen applies that same figure to the claim value at filing — so above it, expect to be refused at intake and take the dispute to the consumer commission instead. File within one year of receiving the insurer's rejection — or, if it never replied, within one year of one month after you sent your representation.
Common questions
Is a surveyor's report final and binding?
No. In New India Assurance Co. Ltd. v. Pradeep Kumar (Civil Appeal No. 3253 of 2002) the Supreme Court held a surveyor's report is 'not the last and final word', not 'sacrosanct', not conclusive, and binding on neither side. Note that Section 64UM cuts the other way: its proviso lets the insurer settle at a different figure without needing to record reasons. So the leverage is your own evidence, which the consumer forum weighs against the report.
Can I challenge the surveyor's assessment?
Yes. You can obtain an independent repair estimate or expert opinion and place it against the surveyor's report, and contest the specific heads where the assessment is too low. The report can be set aside where it ignores genuine, provable costs.
Can the insurer order a second survey to reduce my claim?
Only for cogent, recorded reasons — not simply because it dislikes the first surveyor's figure. A second survey commissioned merely to drive the assessment down can itself be challenged.
See the full escalation ladder for a rejected claim, or use a free complaint-letter template.
This guide is general information about the insurance-grievance process in India, not legal advice, and figures (timelines, monetary limits, jurisdiction) can change — verify against the official sources linked above before you rely on them.
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