LIC and insurance 'bonus' calls and a fake Bima Bharosa complaint site: what IRDAI says

Illustrative stock image via Unsplash. It does not depict the organisations named.

Callers promise a bonus, a refund on a lapsed policy or your agent's commission, then ask for a 'fee' or 'GST'. A fake site posed as IRDAI's complaint portal. What IRDAI and LIC say, how to check, and what to do if you paid.

01 / The short answer

If a caller says a bonus, refund or commission is waiting on your LIC or other insurance policy, but you must first pay a fee, 'GST' or deposit, it is a scam. The insurance regulator IRDAI says it does not announce any bonus. LIC says it does not share bonus information by phone.

Already paid? Call 1930 now. Section 06 has the steps.

02 / What the calls say

IRDAI has warned about these calls in public notices on 29 January 2014, 26 August 2014 and 9 September 2019, reissued on 27 July 2020; Delhi Police lists similar calls. The script:

• Bonus: an 'unclaimed' or 'loyalty' bonus is due to you.
• Lapsed policy: money from a policy you stopped paying can be 'refunded'.
• Agent commission: your agent's commission can come back to you.
• Surrender and switch: close your policy and buy a new one.
• The catch: first pay a 'fee', 'advance tax' or deposit to the caller.

Callers claim to be from IRDAI, RBI, a 'grievance cell' or IGMS (IRDAI's complaint system, now Bima Bharosa), and may know your policy details. Reported: in August 2026, callers posing as insurance officials promised an Ahmedabad police inspector ₹19.5 lakh. She paid 'processing charges', then 'GST' they said would be returned: about ₹5.4 lakh in all, Outlook Money and the Free Press Journal reported, citing The Times of India.

03 / The fake complaint site

On 4 September 2026, IRDAI issued public notice IRDAI/PPGR/BB/2026-27/25 against a website posing as an IRDAI complaint platform. The notice names the fake site's address; we are not repeating it. The look-alike addresses mix the words 'igms' and 'irdai', but they do not end in irdai.gov.in. IRDAI says it is not an IRDAI website and is taking action.

Do not register complaints there, give policy, bank, KYC or OTP details, or pay anything, IRDAI says. The only official portal is bimabharosa.irdai.gov.in. Type it yourself.

Bima Bharosa says it asks for no payment of any kind, and warns against look-alike sites that want money for quick claim settlement. Never scan a QR code or open a link that claims to send money to you.

04 / What IRDAI and LIC say

• IRDAI does not sell insurance, invest insurers' premiums or announce bonuses (2014 and 2020 notices). Its complaint staff do not call about complaints lodged with it (August 2014 and 2019 notices).
• A policy pays only what its own terms say. Offers beyond that are fake, IRDAI says.
• LIC does not share bonus information by phone and never encourages you to stop a policy. Check details on licindia.in or at your branch, it says.
• LIC also said in March 2025 that it never calls, texts or emails to verify KYC, Business Standard and StudyCafe reported.

05 / Check your policy yourself

• LIC: the Customer Portal on licindia.in, LIC's customer app (listed there as MyLIC), or your branch with your policy bond. LIC's listed number is +91-22-68276827.
• Other insurers: the website or number printed on your policy, never one a caller gives.
• Unsure? Paste it into our scam check.

06 / Paid or shared details? What to do now

• Money has gone: call 1930, then your bank on its official number, then file on cybercrime.gov.in. Our lost-money checklist covers the first hour.
• Shared a PIN, OTP or bank details: call your bank and block net banking, UPI and cards.
• LIC customers: report the call to spuriouscalls@licindia.com, and to the police with the caller's number.
• A real policy complaint: go to the insurer first, as IRDAI advises. Bima Bharosa forwards complaints to insurers and lets you escalate to IRDAI; its call centre is 155255 or 1800 425 4732 (8am to 8pm, Monday to Saturday). Still unresolved? The Insurance Ombudsman (cioins.co.in) is the next route.
• Report the number on Chakshu. Ignore paid 'recovery' offers; why.

07 / Confirmed, reported and claimed

Confirmed (official): IRDAI's notices; Bima Bharosa's warning and numbers; LIC's spurious-calls notice; Delhi Police's list of fake calls. IRDAI's site now serves the 2020 text for the 2019 notice; the 2019 wording is from Bajaj Life's copy. Reported (media): the fake site (TaxGuru, Upstox, Outlook Money, Free Press Journal); LIC's KYC warning; the Ahmedabad case. Claimed (by fraudsters): that they call from IRDAI or LIC, and a payout follows once you pay. Not known: how many people used the fake site or lost money.