life insurance policy
People consider life insurance policy to be the strongest support for the financial security of the family, but sometimes this support becomes the cause of problems. Every year thousands of policyholders face problems like mis-selling of policies, delay in claims, partial payments or outright rejection of claims. In such cases, people file complaints with the Insurance Ombudsman.
Figures in CIO’s annual report
The annual report of the Council of Insurance Ombudsman (CIO) for the financial year 2024-25 has revealed that a large number of complaints have been filed against many big life insurance companies. According to the report, during this period the maximum number of complaints have been received against Bharti AXA Life Insurance Company.
Bharti AXA and LIC on top
A total of 2,770 complaints were filed against Bharti AXA Life Insurance in the financial year 2024-25, which is more than any other company. This was followed by Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), against which 1,951 complaints were received. However, due to the large number of LIC policyholders, the proportion of complaints is considered to be comparatively low.
Position of other companies
HDFC Life (1,320), PNB MetLife (1,060) and Bajaj Allianz Life (998) also feature in the top list in terms of complaints. Whereas, among the top 10 companies, the least number of 555 complaints were registered against Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance.
Image of pending complaints
The figures of pending complaints in the report are also shocking. As of March 31, 2025, 503 complaints remained pending with Bharti AXA Life Insurance. After this, 184 complaints were pending with LIC and 174 with HDFC Life. Among the top 10 companies, Edelweiss Life Insurance had the least number of pending complaints at 87.
What lessons for customers
Experts say that while buying a policy, it is very important to read the terms and conditions carefully, do not completely depend on the agent’s words and be aware of the claim process in advance. If the problem still arises, the customer can take the help of Insurance Ombudsman and lodge his complaint.