In hour one you do not need a 3,000 word essay. You need to intimate correctly, choose the settlement path, start the clock, and open the guide that matches your line. This hub is deliberately short. Depth stays in the existing claim cluster.

Method and data basis

Intimation and documentation prompts follow IRDAI health master circular and general claim directions (cashless timelines, reimbursement windows, repudiation letter duties). Routing pointers map to BimaNiti claim posts already published: cashless versus reimbursement, document lists, delay escalation, rejection remedies, TAT clocks and the pre-admission prevention checklist.

First 60 minutes, any line

  1. Life safety and police requirements first (accident, fire, theft): FIR or hospital admission notes as applicable.
  2. Locate policy number and insurer/TPA contacts from your own files or official portal, never from a cold caller.
  3. Intimate the claim through the official channel (portal, app, published hotline). Log time, reference number, and who you spoke to.
  4. Choose path: cashless if network and pre-auth apply; otherwise reimbursement with original bills secured. For life, nominee claim with death certificate and policy papers starts here.
  5. Start the clock: note the TAT that applies (for health, authorisation and settlement windows under current rules; for motor, survey and settlement practice).
  6. Open the deep guide for your line using the index below before you improvise on WhatsApp forwards.

Routing index

  • Health cashless decision and rights: cashless versus reimbursement guide; if denied, cashless denied rights piece.
  • Documents only: claim documents checklist (motor, health, fire).
  • Delay after complete file: delayed claim escalation ladder.
  • Rejected or repudiated: claim rejected next steps (not this page).
  • Before admission (planned): pre-admission checklist to prevent avoidable denial.
  • Clocks and numbers: IRDAI turnaround times explainer.
  • Life nominee process nuances: use life claim settlement coverage in the cluster and keep non-disclosure rulings in mind when disclosure questions arise.

What usually goes wrong in hour one

Missing intimation window, treating a chat agent as the official channel, choosing cashless at a non-network ward, or photographing bills without collecting originals. Fix those four and hour two is logistics, not panic.

What not to do

Do not admit to coverage theories you have not read. Do not discard originals. Do not let a third party file from a personal account when the official portal can log it.

Connect the cluster

All depth lives in the linked claim posts above. Prevention before bill: pre-admission checklist. Insurer metrics that predicted friction: scorecard comparison and CSR explainer.