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CreditAccess Life Insurance
CreditAccess Life Insurance is an Indian life insurer, set up in 2019, that provides low-cost life cover to low-income households through the MFIs, cooperatives, and employers they already deal with. Sums assured start from just ₹1,000, and many borrowers and group members already have a policy without ever filling out an insurance form.
It works through these partners instead of asking customers to come to an insurer. The aim is not to sell a big-ticket product but to get some cover into as many hands as possible, since millions of borrowers in India still have no life insurance and regular sales channels rarely reach them.
This guide covers who runs the company, how its products work, how to file a claim, and who to contact if something goes wrong.
Company Overview
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full Name | CreditAccess Life Insurance Limited (CALI) |
| IRDAI Registration No. | 163 (Date of Registration: March 31, 2023) |
| CIN | U66020KA2019PLC120540 |
| Incorporated | January 18, 2019 |
| Solvency Ratio | 3.59x (as of March 2025) - well above the 1.5x regulatory floor |
| Active Product Lines | 3 (Credit Life, Group Term Life, Savings/Fund-based) — 8 products live as of FY24-25 |
| Lives Insured (FY24-25) | ~17.69 million |
| Claims Settled (FY24-25) | ₹41.84 crore, covering 6,409 lives |
| Avg. Issuance/Claim TAT | ~2 days after receipt of complete documents |
| Master Policyholders Onboarded | 427 (as of FY24-25) |
| Registered Office | #595, 1st Floor, 15th Cross, 1st Phase, Outer Ring Road, J.P. Nagar, Bengaluru, Karnataka – 560078 |
| Toll-free | 1800-569-0801 |
| [email protected] |
Note: CALI doesn't publish a single company-wide "claim settlement ratio %" the way older insurers do, since it's only in its third year of operations. The figures above are the closest verified numbers from its FY24-25 Annual Report.
About the Company
CALI is promoted by two entities:
- Avalahalli Investments Private Limited (AIPL) - incorporated in 2018 specifically to promote CALI, controlled by Mrs. Vinatha Reddy and Mr. Suresh Krishna, and connected to social enterprises inspired by Prof. Muhammad Yunus's microcredit philosophy.
- CreditAccess India B.V. (CAI) is a Netherlands-based company with 15+ years of experience, serving roughly 4.6 million clients through 250+ shareholders' backing.
The parent group's lending arm, CreditAccess Grameen, is India's largest microfinance institution. CALI's entire distribution strategy rests on that existing trust — instead of building a retail sales network from scratch, it sells through the MFIs, cooperatives, and employers people already deal with.
Vision
To bridge the insurance protection gap among the low-income and financially excluded population.
Mission
To become India's insurer of choice for the unserved and underserved population, through trusted, transparent, and efficient insurance solutions.
Core Values
CALI holds itself accountable to three groups: Partners, Customers, and Employees through a customer-first approach, transparency, and following through on what it promises.
Features of CreditAccess Life Insurance
- Solvency Ratio: 3.59x as of March 2025, one of the strongest in the industry per IRDAI data, though this partly reflects being a newly capitalised insurer with a small book.
- Group-Only Distribution: CALI doesn't sell individual retail policies directly; every product is issued through a Master Policyholder (an MFI, employer, cooperative, or similar group).
- Fast Servicing: Average issuance and claim settlement turnaround of ~2 days once documents are complete.
- Small-Ticket Sums Assured: From as low as ₹1,000 (term) and ₹5,000 (credit life), scaled to loan size or group need.
Benefits of CreditAccess Life Insurance
- Built for the underserved: Sums assured as low as ₹1,000–5,000, aimed at first-time buyers other insurers typically price out.
- Group model = lower premiums: No individual underwriting, so premiums are pooled and reduced at the group level.
- Fast claims: ~2-day average TAT, leveraging KYC and trust the Master Policyholder already holds.
- Backed by an established group: Part of the CreditAccess Group, whose lending arm serves 4.6 million+ clients.
Riders for CreditAccess Life Insurance
CreditAccess Life does not sell riders separately. Each product is a complete plan, and any added benefits are usually set at the Master Policyholder level, not chosen by individual members. Check the Policy Wording of your specific plan for the exact benefits.
Documents Required to Get Covered
Since cover comes through a Master Policyholder, individual paperwork is minimal:
- Member ID/enrolment form issued by the group (MFI/employer/cooperative)
- Basic KYC (as required by the specific product)
- Nominee details
Documents Required for Claims
For claims, the following are required:
- Filled Insurance Claim Form
- Death Certificate of the deceased
- KYC of the deceased
- KYC and Bank Details of the nominee
- Member ID / Certificate of Insurance (for faster processing)
How to Get Covered
You can't buy a CALI policy directly off its website. Coverage happens when:
- Your MFI, employer, cooperative, or association becomes a Master Policyholder with CALI.
- You're enrolled as a member under that group policy, often automatically, tied to a loan or membership.
- You receive a Certificate of Insurance confirming your cover and sum assured.
How to File a Claim
Step 1 - Claim Intimation: The nominee informs the Master Policyholder (the MFI/employer/cooperative through which cover was taken), quoting the Member ID or Certificate of Insurance number.
Step 2 - Document Submission: Submit the Claim Form, Death Certificate, the deceased's KYC, and the nominee's KYC and bank details to the Master Policyholder.
Step 3 - Claim Settlement: CALI verifies documents (average ~2-day TAT for a complete file) and processes payment. For Credit Life products, the sum assured first closes any outstanding loan, with any balance going to the nominee.
Grievance Redressal & Escalation Matrix
Types of Plans
Raksha - Group Credit Life (loan-linked)
| Plan | Key Feature |
|---|---|
| CreditAccess Raksha Kavach Sukshm | Entry-level credit life cover |
| CreditAccess Raksha Chakra | Loan-linked cover, min. sum assured ₹5,000 |
| CreditAccess Life – Raksha Chakra Poorna | Enhanced credit life variant |
| CreditAccess Life – Raksha Kavach Plus | Extended credit life cover |
Suraksha - Group Term Life (non-credit-linked)
| Plan | Key Feature |
|---|---|
| CreditAccess Life – Suraksha | Base group term cover, min. sum assured ₹1,000 |
| CreditAccess Life – Suraksha Sukshm | Micro sum assured variant |
| CreditAccess Life – Samunnati Suraksha | Group term for specific affinity segments |
| CreditAccess Life – Anantha Suraksha Sukshm | Micro-ticket variant |
| CreditAccess Life – Suraksha Bharosa Sukshm | Trust-linked micro cover |
| CreditAccess Life – Anantha Suraksha | Standard group term variant |
Samruddhi - Savings & Fund-Based
| Plan | Key Feature |
|---|---|
| CreditAccess Sarvochchah Nidhi | Savings-linked life cover |
| CreditAccess Life – Grameen Sanchay | Maturity + death benefit combo product |
Exclusions for CreditAccess Life Insurance
- Suicide within the first 12 months of the policy (only premiums paid, or surrender value if higher, is returned).
- Death due to non-disclosure or misrepresentation of material facts at enrolment.
- Death arising directly from participation in a criminal act.
Exact exclusions vary by product (Raksha, Suraksha, Samruddhi families) and are specified in each product's Policy Document; confirm per plan before publishing.
Conclusion
CreditAccess Life Insurance isn't a company you'd shop for online the way you would ICICI or HDFC Life; it's a micro-insurance specialist built around one idea: reach people through the groups they already trust, and keep the product small and simple enough that it actually gets used. Its 3.59 solvency ratio and 2-day claim TAT suggest it's backing that idea with real financial strength, despite being only a few years old. If you're already part of an MFI, cooperative, or employer group partnered with CALI, your cover most likely already exists. If not, there's currently no way to buy a policy directly; you'd need to go through a partnered group.
