Claim intimation

What is claim intimation?

Claim intimation is the act of telling the insurer that an event covered by the policy has occurred: a death, a hospitalisation, an accident, a fire, a theft. It is the first step of every claim. The intimation does not need the full set of documents. Its job is to put the insurer on notice so that it can register the claim, give a claim number, appoint a surveyor or TPA where needed and ask for what it requires.

In general insurance the same step is often called the first notice of loss (FNOL).

How claim intimation works in India

The rules sit in the IRDAI (Protection of Policyholders' Interests, Operations and Allied Matters of Insurers) Regulations, 2024 and the Master Circular on Protection of Policyholders' Interests issued on 5 September 2024. As of October 2026 the main points are:

• Who intimates. The policyholder or claimant, which in a death claim is usually the nominee, a family member or an assignee.
• How. At the earliest possible time, in person or through the insurer's online channel, the distribution channel that sold the policy, the insurer's authorised call centre or any other mode in the policy document. For health claims, the TPA or the hospital can also take the intimation where that facility exists.
• Channels must pass it on. If an intimation reaches a distribution channel, a TPA or a hospital, it must be forwarded to the insurer immediately.
• Late intimation is not a ground on its own. The master circular says no claim shall be rejected or closed for want of documents or for delayed intimation. For retail general insurance, it adds that an insurer cannot repudiate because of a delay by the policyholder where that delay did not increase the assessed loss.
• The clock starts here. Life death claim timelines (15 days without investigation, 45 days with) run from the date of intimation. If the insurer misses the timeline, interest at the bank rate plus 2% runs from the date the intimation was received until payment, and the insurer must pay it on its own without being asked.

What the policyholder still has to do depends on the line. In motor theft and fire claims, the policy and the citizens' charter expect a police FIR or a fire brigade report, and steps to protect the property and preserve salvage. In health, cashless requests go through the network hospital's desk, and the insurer has one hour to decide on a cashless authorisation.

What claim intimation means for distribution

Claim time is when a family learns whether the person who sold the policy will show up. Distribution teams that treat intimation as part of service, not as the insurer's problem, build referrals and persistency.

Practical points for agents, branch staff and partner managers:

• Know the insurer's intimation routes for each product. Keep the claims helpline, email and app links in the agent app or the bank's branch toolkit, so staff do not search for them when a family calls.
• Log and forward the same day. Because the regulation treats the channel as a valid intimation point, a message sitting in an agent's phone can later look like a delay by the insurer, or by the channel. Forward it in writing and keep the acknowledgement.
• Collect the basics at first contact. Policy number, date and cause of the event, claimant's contact and bank details, and whether the policy is assigned to a lender. That alone avoids the most common back and forth.
• Do not promise an outcome. The adviser's role is to help file a complete claim, not to predict the decision.
• Brief bank partners. In bancassurance and credit-linked group covers, the lender is often the first to hear of a death. Branch teams should know that the insurer, not the bank, decides the claim, and that the nominee must be told about any assignment.
• Track intimation to settlement by channel. Turnaround from intimation to payout, split by channel and branch, shows where claims are getting stuck before they reach the insurer.

Claim intimation checklist for a customer

A good adviser tells the customer, at the time of sale, how to intimate a claim and what to keep ready:

1. The policy number and the insurer's claim contact, saved where the family can find them.
2. Nominee details and bank account, updated in the policy record.
3. For health and motor, the cashless and helpline numbers on the policy card.
4. A reminder that intimation should be given as early as possible, even if documents will take time.