The Bima Lokpal Day, 2025 was observed today by the Office of the Insurance Ombudsman, Hyderabad, to commemorate the establishment of the Institution of Insurance Ombudsman, an initiative of the Government of India to provide a cost-free, transparent, and impartial mechanism for resolving grievances of policyholders. The day started with Shri Ajay Seth, Chairman, IRDAI addressing all the Insurance Ombudsman Centres across India via a webcast and providing inspiration for a responsive and empathetic grievance redressal system to aid in increasing insurance penetration and achieving IRDAI’s objective of ‘Insurance for All by 2047’.
Dignitaries
The Chief Guest, Shri Deepak Sood, Member, Non-life (IRDAI) graced the occasion and addressed the gathering at The Central Court Hotel, Khairatabad, Hyderabad. While appreciating the efforts of the Hyderabad centre in taking special initiatives for speedy disposal of the complaints, he emphasized on early settlement of claims at the Insurer level and mentioned that every complaint gives an opportunity for Insurer to do a root cause analysis to avoid reoccurrence of the same, thereby building trust among the policyholders.
Smt G Shobha Reddy, Insurance Ombudsman, Hyderabad, highlighted the importance of the grievance redressal mechanism and presented the performance of the Centre during FY 2024-25, and the current year’s achievements up to October 2025. The Ombudsman informed the august gathering about the Awareness and Outreach Activities organized by the Hyderabad Centre throughout November, 2025 to mark the Bima Lokpal Day, 2025.
● Distribution of Pamphlets and Brochures: Educating the public about important aspects to consider when purchasing insurance and highlighting Do’s and Don’ts in Life and Health Insurance.
● Standee Banners: Displayed in the premises of the Ombudsman Office with the message “Insurance Ombudsman – an Alternate Grievance Redressal Machinery for resolving insurance complaints free of cost.”
● Digital Display Campaign: Informational screens were placed across metro routes in Hyderabad and Secunderabad, and railway stations in Andhra Pradesh — including Chirala, Tuni, Tadepalligudem, Anakapalle, Kakinada, Bhimavaram, Samalkot and Renigunta — showcasing the procedure to approach the Ombudsman Office.
● WhatsApp Awareness Initiative: The Hyderabad Centre also launched an innovative campaign through WhatsApp Display Pictures and Status Messages carrying the theme “Empowering Policyholders through Fair Redressal”, to reach wider audiences digitally.
These collective initiatives aim to promote awareness about the Ombudsman’s services and encourage policyholders to use this free and fair redressal mechanism.
Senior officials of public sector companies, officers from private insurance companies and representatives from TPAs participated and shared their experiences about strengthening customer grievance mechanisms within their respective organizations.
The event concluded with a vote of thanks to the Chief Guest, other dignitaries, members of the press, and all participants for their continued cooperation and support towards improving consumer awareness and achieving excellence in service delivery within the insurance sector.