Verified: 20 July 2026 05:31 am IST
Industry: Life Insurance
Jurisdiction: India
Primary Regulator: Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI)
Important Safety Warning: Beware of the “Fake Support & Bonus Scam.” Scammers frequently buy ads on Google displaying fake SBI Life customer service helplines. This is a scam. SBI Life staff and the Insurance Ombudsman will never ask you to pay a “processing fee” to release maturity funds, ask for your customer portal password, or call you offering a special “bonus” scheme to surrender your policy.
Level 1: Customer Support (Initial Complaint)
How to complain: Register your complaint (claim delays, policy mis-selling, or premium receipt failures) via the SBI Life Smart Care App or the customer portal on their website. You can also email the central grievance desk at wecare@sbilife.co.in (use info@sbilife.co.in for general queries) or call the toll-free helpline at 1800-267-9090. Senior citizens have a dedicated email desk at wecare.seniorcitizen@sbilife.co.in. You must ensure you receive a unique “Complaint Number” - without this number, your complaint does not legally exist in the regulatory system.
Availability: The call center operates 24x7. Branch offices operate Monday to Friday during standard banking hours.
Timeline: SBI Life must acknowledge your complaint within 3 working days and resolve Level 1 issues within 15 days as per IRDAI guidelines.
Level 2: Internal Escalation (Head of Customer Service)
Who to contact: If Level 1 support fails, your claim is wrongfully rejected, or 15 days pass without resolution, you must escalate to the EVP & Head - Customer Service & Experience (currently Ms. Snehalatha K). You must email your formal grievance, clearly stating your original Level 1 Complaint Number, to hcr@sbilife.co.in or call 022-66456785.
Timeline: The internal grievance desk must review the escalation and provide a reasoned resolution within the overall 30-day corporate resolution window.
Level 3: Final Internal Escalation (Chief Grievance Redressal Officer)
Who to contact: If the Head of Customer Service fails to resolve the issue to your satisfaction, you must escalate to the final internal authority: the Chief of Customer Service & Experience (Grievance Redressal Officer) (currently Mr. Anil Bhatt) at ccseoffice@sbilife.co.in or call 022-66456200. Written legal notices should be sent via physical post to their central processing headquarters: SBI Life Insurance Company Limited, Central Processing Centre, 7th Level (D Wing) & 8th Level, Seawoods Grand Central, Tower 2, Plot No R-1, Sector-40, Seawoods, Nerul Node, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra – 400706.
Level 4: Administrative Mediation (IRDAI Bima Bharosa & Insurance Ombudsman)
Authority: If SBI Life’s Chief GRO rejects your claim, or exactly 30 days have passed since your initial Level 1 complaint without a satisfactory resolution, you have exhausted internal remedies. Your next step depends on the severity. You can escalate administrative delays to the IRDAI via the Bima Bharosa portal. If your dispute is regarding a claim rejection, premium disputes, or policy mis-selling (up to ₹50 Lakhs), you must approach the Insurance Ombudsman.
Portal/Contact: File general administrative escalations at bimabharosa.irdai.gov.in. For quasi-judicial mediation regarding claim rejections, register your case directly on the Council for Insurance Ombudsmen portal at cioins.co.in. The Ombudsman service is entirely free, and lawyers are generally not allowed to represent you during the hearing.
Level 5: Legal Action (Final Step)
Pre-Litigation: Because SBI Life is backed by the State Bank of India (a public sector bank), systemic issues can sometimes be escalated via the government’s CPGRAMS portal (pgportal.gov.in), though the Ombudsman is far more effective for individual insurance claims. You can also use the National Consumer Helpline (NCH) at 1915 for pre-litigation counseling.
Court/Arbitration: If all administrative avenues fail, you must prepare for formal litigation under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. You can file a formal complaint with the appropriate District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission entirely online using the government’s unified e-Jagriti portal (e-jagriti.gov.in).
Timeline: You must file the consumer case or the Ombudsman complaint within one year from the date the insurer officially rejected your claim.
Community Action: Is SBI Life refusing to process a maturity claim after 30 days, or are you looking for the correct template to formally escalate a death claim rejection to the Navi Mumbai Chief GRO? Reply below (do not share your passwords, policy documents, or full policy numbers), and our community will point you to the right resources!