Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Claim Settlement Ratio alone doesn’t tell the full story. Learn why real customer experience, payout timelines, and IRDAI complaint data matter more in choosing the right insurance provider.
When you compare insurance companies in India, one term keeps popping up — Claim Settlement Ratio (CSR). On the surface, it looks like a trustworthy metric. A company with a CSR of 98% sounds like a safe bet, right?
But here’s the truth: that number doesn’t always reflect how smooth your actual experience will be when you file a claim.
Let’s break it down and more importantly, help you decide what really matters when choosing an insurer.
Claim Settlement Ratio refers to the percentage of claims an insurance company approves in a given year.
For example, if an insurer received 10,000 claims in 2024–25 and approved 9,800 of them, their CSR would be 98%.
The IRDAI (Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India) publishes these numbers every year in their Annual Report.
But here’s what the CSR doesn’t tell you:
That’s where real claim experience comes into the picture.
For example, a company may settle 9,800 out of 10,000 claims (high CSR), but:
In such cases, the experience can be frustrating — especially during a time of medical emergency or financial need.
Let’s say two companies have the same CSR of 97%.
On paper, they look equal — but in reality, Company A provides far better service.
Also, insurers may deny big claims and approve small ones quickly to maintain their high CSR. So if you’re filing for ₹5 lakh, your experience could be very different from someone filing for ₹50,000.
Also, ask your agent or advisor for real-life examples of how claims were handled.
You can visit: https://bimabharosa.irdai.gov.in to explore complaint trends.
This can be a more honest indicator of how an insurer treats customers.
Ravi bought a health insurance policy from Insurer X because it had a 99.2% CSR. But when his father was hospitalized, they:
Meanwhile, his friend Meena had a much smoother experience with Insurer Y, which had only a 96.5% CSR — but excellent customer service. So it’s clear that Numbers don’t always tell the full story.
CSR is a helpful benchmark, but don’t trust it blindly.
Always balance it with: