According to the IRDAI Annual Report 2023-24, a staggering 36.40 lakh health claims were repudiated by non-life insurance companies in FY 2023-24. This marks a sharp 68% increase compared to 21.65 lakh claims rejected in FY 2022-23. Since Group and Government Health schemes are fully loaded covers, most of these repudiated claims likely pertain to retail health policies. A key concern is whether policyholders were given a fair opportunity to contest these rejections. In many cases, insured individuals may not have even received a formal rejection letter. Publicly available data suggests that the estimated redressal capacity for insurance claims is as follows: Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions (DCDRF, SDRF, NCDRC): 45,000 cases annually (one-third of total cases decided) Ombudsman Offices: 25,000 cases annually Other Forums (including PLA): 10,000 cases annually Total Redressal Capacity: ~80,000 cases annually The stark gap between rejected claims and available redressal capacity results in prolonged turnaround times, often stretching over years. Additionally, it emboldens insurers to engage in arbitrary claim rejections, undermining trust in indemnity-based insurance. These trends pose a serious challenge to the “Insurance for All” initiative. Your insights and perspectives on this issue would be highly valuable.