Archive · 16 Aug 2026
Unlocking Schedule NL-47: use annual disclosures to pick health insurance
Buying health insurance can be confusing because there are so many plans to choose from.
Every year, insurance companies share lots of information, but it can be hard to understand.
There is a special document called Schedule NL-47 that tells you about each plan.
It shows how often the company pays claims when people need help.
It also shows how many customers complain about the plan.
And it shows how many people keep their plan year after year.
Experts say a good plan pays at least 90 out of every 100 claims.
If many people renew their plan, that means they are happy with it.
Looking at this information can help you pick the best health insurance plan for you.
Schedule NL-47 is a product-level section of insurers' annual public disclosures that helps prospective buyers assess specific health insurance plans.
Claim settlement rates can vary substantially between products sold by the same insurer, and buyers should ideally look for rates above 90%.
The incurred claims ratio (ICR) measures claims paid as a proportion of premiums collected, with one insurer's product-level ICRs ranging from 52% to 107%.
Customers should compare complaint rates rather than total complaint numbers, since larger insurers naturally receive more complaints.
NL-47 provides product-level renewal rates, with one leading insurer's products showing renewal rates of roughly 87% to 95%.
- Who
- Prospective health insurance buyers, insurers that publish Schedule NL-47 disclosures, and the Insurance Ombudsman, which publishes annual complaint figures for insurers.
- What
- A guide to using Schedule NL-47 product-level disclosures to compare health insurance plans by coverage, claim settlement rates, complaints, and renewal rates.
- When
- Not specified; the disclosures are published annually by insurers.
- Where
- India (implied by references to the Insurance Ombudsman and policy counts in lakhs).
- Why
- Because company-wide disclosure data is difficult for ordinary customers to navigate when deciding which health insurance policy to buy.
- Disclosure
- Schedule NL-47 - product-level data in insurers' annual public disclosures
- Ideal claim settlement rate
- Above 90%
- Example settlement range
- About 92% to 97% for one standalone health insurer
- Example ICR range
- 52% to 107% across individual products of one insurer
- Example renewal range
- About 87% to 95% for one leading insurer
- Complaint comparison
- Compare complaint rates, not total numbers
- Renewal age data
- Breakdown for policies active 1, 3, 5+ years; one product had about 4.5 lakh active policies