Surveyor has not visited after your insurance claim: what to do

Who this guide is for

This guide is for you if you have intimated a general insurance claim and the surveyor or loss assessor has not turned up to inspect the loss. Common situations:

• Your house, shop or property was damaged by fire, flood, storm or water, you reported it, but days pass and no surveyor comes to inspect.
• You had a burglary or theft, lodged the claim and an FIR, yet no one has visited to assess what was lost.
• Your vehicle was damaged in an accident and is waiting at the garage, but the insurer's surveyor has not inspected it so repairs cannot be approved.
• An insured animal died or property was damaged, you intimated the claim, and the surveyor visit keeps getting postponed.
• You are told a surveyor 'will come' but get no name, no appointment and no written confirmation, and the delay is now risking your evidence or your repairs.

What you can do this weekend

Friday evening

Fix the facts and the evidence first. Find your claim intimation — the email, SMS, call reference or portal acknowledgement — and note the exact date you reported the loss and your claim and policy numbers. Then protect the scene: the law of claims rests on what the surveyor can still see.

• Photograph and video the damaged site, goods, vehicle or animal from several angles, with dates, before anything is cleaned, repaired or moved.
• Do not throw away damaged items or carry out repairs you cannot prove were unavoidable; if you must act to prevent further loss, record why and keep the bills.
• List exactly what is damaged or lost, with rough values, so you are ready when the surveyor finally arrives.

Saturday

Put the missing inspection on the record. Write to the insurer's claims team (and to your agent or broker, if any) asking them to depute a surveyor and confirm an inspection date in writing. Use the template below; keep it calm and factual.

• Quote your claim number, policy number, the date of loss and the date you intimated the claim.
• State clearly that no surveyor has visited so far and that the delay is holding up your claim and risking your evidence or repairs.
• Ask for the surveyor's name and contact and a firm date, and ask them to acknowledge your email with a reference number.

Sunday

Pull your file together and plan the escalation. Read your policy on claim intimation, survey and what you must preserve, and prepare to move up the chain if Monday's reply is vague.

• Save every message, call log and portal screenshot in one folder, with dates, so your timeline is clean.
• Note the insurer's Grievance Redressal Officer contact from your policy document and the insurer's website, ready to escalate.
• Plan Monday: send the surveyor-demand email, ask for the inspection date and reference, and diarise when you will escalate to the GRO and then Bima Bharosa if nothing moves.

Documents and evidence checklist

Step-by-step action plan

1. Confirm and date your claim intimation. Find proof that you reported the loss: the email, SMS, call reference or portal acknowledgement, with the date. Note your claim number, policy number and the date of loss. This fixes when the clock started and shows you intimated the claim properly.
2. Preserve and photograph the loss. Keep the damaged site, goods, vehicle or animal undisturbed until the surveyor inspects. Photograph and video everything from several angles with dates. If you must act to prevent further damage, record why and keep the bills, because the survey rests on what can still be seen.
3. Demand a surveyor in writing. Email the insurer's claims team, quoting your claim and policy numbers and the date you intimated, and ask them to depute a surveyor and confirm an inspection date in writing. Ask for the surveyor's name and contact, and ask them to acknowledge with a reference number.
4. Follow up and keep the trail. If you get no firm date, follow up in writing every few days and save every reply, call log and screenshot. A clean dated trail of your follow-ups and their silence is exactly what later levels need to see, so keep it all in one folder.
5. Escalate to the Grievance Redressal Officer. If the claims team still does not send a surveyor, write to the insurer's Grievance Redressal Officer, named in your policy and on the insurer's website. State the unanswered delay, attach your timeline and evidence, and ask for a surveyor and a written response with a reference number.
6. Register a complaint on IRDAI Bima Bharosa. If the insurer does not act within a reasonable time, register your grievance on IRDAI's Bima Bharosa portal. You get a token to track it and the insurer's response is mirrored there. Keep that token with your file; it adds real pressure to depute a surveyor.
7. Ask for the survey report when it is done. Once a surveyor finally inspects, ask the insurer in writing for a copy of the survey report and the basis of any deduction. You are entitled to know how your loss was assessed, and the report is central if you later have to dispute the amount.
8. Use RTI only if a public-sector insurer holds the file. If your policy is with a public-sector (government) general insurer, file an RTI with its Public Information Officer asking whether and when a surveyor was appointed, the appointment letter, the survey report and the claim-file notings. This proves the delay; it does not by itself order a visit or pay you.
9. Approach the Ombudsman or a consumer forum. If the insurer still ignores the survey and your claim stalls, take it to the Insurance Ombudsman through cioins.co.in within the time limit in the Ombudsman Rules, which is free for policyholders. For deficiency of service, you can also file before a consumer commission on e-Daakhil.

Escalation ladder

Copy-paste complaint template

Adapt the bracketed parts. Keep a copy of everything you send.

To: The Claims Team / Grievance Redressal Officer
[Insurance company name] (copy to agent/broker [name], if any)

Subject: Surveyor not yet deputed for my claim no. [claim number] under policy no. [policy number] — request to depute a surveyor and fix an inspection date

Dear Sir / Madam,

I am the policyholder/insured under the above policy. I intimated a claim for the loss described below, but as on date no surveyor or loss assessor has visited to inspect the loss.

Claim details:
- Policy number: [policy number]
- Claim / intimation number: [claim number]
- Date of loss: [date]
- Date I intimated the claim: [date], by [email / phone / portal], reference [reference if any]
- Nature of loss: [e.g. fire / flood / theft / burglary / motor accident / property / livestock] at [address / location]

Despite my intimation and follow-ups on [dates], no surveyor has been deputed and I have not been given any inspection date. The delay is holding up my claim and is putting my evidence and necessary repairs at risk, as I have preserved the site/goods/vehicle for the survey.

I request you to:
1) Depute a surveyor / loss assessor without further delay and confirm an inspection date in writing.
2) Share the surveyor's name and contact details so I can coordinate access.
3) Acknowledge this email with a reference number.

I have preserved the loss as far as possible and am attaching dated photographs/video, my list of damaged/lost items, the FIR or fire report (if applicable), and a short timeline of my intimation and follow-ups. [If I had to take emergency steps to prevent further loss, the bills and reasons are attached.]

If a surveyor is not deputed within a reasonable time, I will be constrained to escalate to your Grievance Redressal Officer, IRDAI's Bima Bharosa portal, the Insurance Ombudsman, and, if necessary, the Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission.

Thank you.

Name: [your name]
Policy number: [policy number]
Claim/intimation number: [claim number]
Mobile: [number]
Email: [email]
Date: [date]

When RTI can help

RTI is useful here only in a narrow situation — when a public authority holds your record — and even then it is an evidence and pressure tool, not a way to force a surveyor to your door or a payout. The real opening is:

• A public-sector (government) general insurer. The government-owned general insurers are public authorities under the RTI Act. If your policy is with one of them, you can file an RTI with its Public Information Officer asking, for your own claim, whether and on what date a surveyor was appointed, a copy of the surveyor's appointment letter, the survey report, and the claim-file notings on the delay.
• A government scheme handling your claim. If your loss is covered through a government scheme — for example a state crop, livestock or property scheme run by a public body — RTI goes to that scheme authority for the appointment and assessment records on your case.

These answers carry real weight at the Grievance Redressal Officer, the Insurance Ombudsman or a consumer commission, because they show, in the insurer's own records, that a surveyor was either not appointed at all or appointed late — which is exactly the failure you are complaining about.

When RTI will not help

For the most common situation — a private general insurer, or the private surveyor / loss assessor the insurer would use — RTI does not apply, because neither is a public authority under the RTI Act. You cannot RTI a private insurer for your claim file, and RTI will never compel anyone to inspect your loss or pay your claim. It is also not much use to RTI the regulator IRDAI for your case: IRDAI is a public authority, but it does not hold your individual claim file or the surveyor's appointment.

For a private general-insurance dispute, use the insurance grievance chain instead: a written demand to the insurer's claims team to depute a surveyor, then the insurer's Grievance Redressal Officer, then IRDAI's Bima Bharosa portal (bimabharosa.irdai.gov.in), and then the Insurance Ombudsman (cioins.co.in), which is free for policyholders. Because insurance is a paid service, a clear case of delay or deficiency can also go to the Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission via e-Daakhil (edaakhil.nic.in), or be logged with the National Consumer Helpline (consumerhelpline.gov.in). CPGRAMS (pgportal.gov.in) is for government departments and public-sector bodies — it fits a public-sector insurer, not a purely private one.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Cleaning up, repairing or disposing of the damaged goods, site or vehicle before the surveyor inspects — you destroy the evidence the survey depends on, which can sink the whole claim.
• Chasing the surveyor only by phone and never in writing, so you have no proof that you demanded a survey and the insurer stayed silent.
• Assuming the surveyor is your responsibility to arrange — the insurer appoints and pays the surveyor, so a missing one is the insurer's delay to answer.
• Filing an RTI against a private insurer or the private surveyor — they are outside the RTI Act; use the insurance grievance chain instead.
• Letting the escalation clock run out — the Insurance Ombudsman has time limits, so diarise dates and escalate in writing rather than waiting on promises.
• Forgetting to ask for a copy of the survey report once the inspection is done, which you need if you later dispute any deduction.

FAQs

Who is supposed to send the surveyor after I report a claim?

The insurer. In general insurance it is the insurance company that appoints and pays the surveyor or loss assessor to inspect your loss, not you. So if no surveyor has visited, that is the insurer's delay to explain. Your job is to intimate the claim, preserve the loss for inspection, and demand a surveyor in writing if one does not come.

What should I do first if no surveyor visits?

Put it in writing. Email the insurer's claims team, quote your claim and policy numbers and the date you intimated, and ask them to depute a surveyor and confirm an inspection date. Ask for the surveyor's name and a reference number. Meanwhile, keep the damaged site, goods or vehicle undisturbed and photograph everything with dates, so the loss is documented even while the visit is delayed.

Can RTI force the insurer to send a surveyor?

No. RTI never compels an inspection or a payout, and against a private insurer it does not even apply. RTI only gives you information, and only from a public authority. To actually get a surveyor moving, use the insurer's claims team and Grievance Redressal Officer, IRDAI's Bima Bharosa portal, the Insurance Ombudsman, and, if needed, a consumer commission via e-Daakhil.

When does RTI actually help with a missing surveyor?

Only when a public body holds the record. If your policy is with a public-sector (government) general insurer, you can file an RTI for whether and when a surveyor was appointed, the appointment letter, the survey report and the claim-file notings. That proves the delay in the insurer's own records, which strengthens your complaint at the Ombudsman or a consumer forum. It does not order a visit by itself.

Can I get my own surveyor or repair the damage while I wait?

Be careful. The insurer appoints the surveyor, and repairing or clearing the loss before inspection can destroy the evidence and let the insurer reject the claim. If you must act to prevent further loss — for example pumping out water or securing a broken door — do the minimum, record why it could not wait, and keep the bills and dated photos to show the surveyor later.

How long can a surveyor take, and is there a deadline?

There are timelines for survey and settlement under IRDAI's policyholder-protection regulations, but they are revised from time to time, so check the current limits on the official portal rather than relying on an old figure. What matters for you is to record the delay in writing, follow up, and escalate up the grievance chain if the insurer keeps you waiting without a clear reason.

Do I have a right to see the survey report?

Yes, you can ask the insurer in writing for a copy of the survey report and the basis of any deduction once the survey is done. You are entitled to know how your loss was assessed. If your insurer is a public-sector one, RTI is another route to the same report and the claim-file notings, which helps if you later dispute the amount.

Which documents should I keep ready?

Keep your claim intimation proof, the policy schedule and wording, dated photos and video of the loss, the FIR or fire report if relevant, an itemised list of damaged or lost items, all correspondence with the insurer, bills for any emergency protective action, and a short dated timeline. These are needed at every escalation level and before the Ombudsman or a consumer commission.

Clear next steps

• Find your claim intimation and note the date of loss, the date you reported it, and your claim and policy numbers.
• Photograph and video the damaged site, goods or vehicle from several angles with dates, and preserve the loss for inspection.
• Email the insurer's claims team demanding a surveyor and an inspection date, and ask them to acknowledge with a reference number.
• Save every reply, call log and screenshot in one folder, and note the insurer's Grievance Redressal Officer contact.
• If nothing moves, plan your Bima Bharosa complaint, and use RTI only if a public-sector general insurer holds your file.