How to Cancel SBI General Insurance Policy Online

To cancel an SBI General Insurance policy online, you have two options: use the dedicated cancellation page at sbigeneral.in/buy-online/refund_endorsements/, or email your request to customer.care@sbigeneral.in from your registered email address.¹² Under IRDAI rules, you can cancel any retail general insurance policy at any time during its term without giving a reason.³ How much premium you get back depends on how long the policy has been running and whether you’ve made a claim.

What to Have Ready

Keep your policy number handy. It appears on the insurance schedule or declaration page issued with the policy. You’ll also need the bank account where you want the refund credited, meaning the account number and IFSC code, plus a scanned copy of a cancelled cheque or the front page of your passbook showing the account holder’s name, account number, and IFSC.⁴ Save these as PDFs or JPEGs so you can upload or attach them.

You don’t need to write a detailed explanation for cancelling. IRDAI’s Master Circular on Protection of Policyholders’ Interests states that a policyholder “is not required to give reasons for cancellation.”³ A single line stating that you wish to cancel policy number [X] is enough.

Check the Free Look Window First

If you only recently received the policy, check whether you’re still inside the 30-day free look period. As of April 1, 2024, IRDAI extended this window from 15 to 30 days for new individual life and health insurance policies, counted from the date you received the policy document.³ Cancelling here gets you a full refund minus any medical examination costs or stamp duty the insurer paid during issuance, and the insurer must process the refund within seven days of receiving your request.

For general insurance products with terms under a year, like most motor or home policies, the free look rules may not apply in the same way. Check your policy wording. If you are within the free look window, cancel now rather than later: it’s the only time you can expect close to a full refund.

Cancelling Through the Website

SBI General runs its cancellation flow at sbigeneral.in/buy-online/refund_endorsements/.¹ The sequence is short:

Enter your policy number on the page to pull up the policy.
Verify your identity using the OTP sent to your registered mobile number or email.
Complete the cancellation request on screen, attaching your cancelled cheque or passbook copy when prompted.

Once you submit, the system displays a confirmation and a service request (SR) number. Save it. That number is your proof the request was received and the reference you’ll use if you need to follow up.

Cancelling by Email

If you’d rather have the request sitting in your sent folder, email customer.care@sbigeneral.in from the address registered on the policy.² A subject line such as “Cancellation Request – Policy Number [your number]” helps route it to the right team.

Keep the body short. State your name as it appears on the policy, the policy number, and that you want it cancelled. Attach the same bank verification documents you would have uploaded through the portal. You should get an automated acknowledgment. If nothing arrives within a few business days, call the toll-free line at 1800 102 1111 to confirm your request is in the system.

What the Mobile App Does and Doesn’t Do

SBI General’s mobile app on Android and iOS lets you link policies, renew, file claims, download policy documents, and locate network hospitals and garages.⁵ It does not appear to include a dedicated cancellation feature. If you want to handle this from your phone, open the cancellation page in a mobile browser or send the email from your phone’s mail app.

How Your Refund Is Calculated

Two things decide what you get back: the time left on the policy, and whether you’ve filed a claim.

For policies with a term of one year or less and no claim made, the insurer refunds premium proportionate to the unexpired period. A ₹12,000 one-year policy cancelled at the six-month mark with no claims would return roughly ₹6,000. For policies longer than one year, the refund covers policy years that haven’t yet started.³

Here’s the catch many people miss. If you have already filed a claim during the current policy period, you may get no refund at all. SBI General’s policy wordings state that refunds apply only when “there is no claim(s) made during the policy period.”⁶ If you’ve used the policy, cancelling it rarely puts money back in your pocket.

Some policy wordings also apply a short-period rate table when the policyholder cancels, which can produce a smaller refund than a straight proportionate calculation. The cancellation clause in your own policy document will show the exact schedule that applies.

When the Money Arrives

Free-look refunds have a seven-day deadline under IRDAI rules.³ For regular mid-term cancellations, the Master Circular does not fix a hard deadline, and the refund usually lands within a few weeks. It goes directly to the bank account on your request. An SBI General representative may call to verify the cancellation before processing, which is routine. Use your SR number to track progress and to escalate if the credit is slow.

What You Give Up by Cancelling

Before you submit the request, think about what cancellation costs beyond the refund calculation.

Motor Insurance and Your No-Claim Bonus

Cancelling a motor policy mid-term forfeits the no-claim bonus you would have earned for that year. NCB builds each claim-free year and can reach 50% off your renewal premium after five consecutive years. If you’re moving to another insurer, transfer the policy at renewal rather than cancelling in the middle. That way the NCB travels with you.

Health Insurance and Waiting Periods

Health policies carry waiting periods for pre-existing conditions, typically two to four years. Cancel outright and you lose every bit of that credit; a fresh policy restarts the clock. The right route when switching health insurers is portability at renewal, which carries your waiting period credits across. Portability only works if there is no break in coverage between the old and new policies. Even one day’s gap can disqualify you.

If Nothing Happens After You Submit

If SBI General doesn’t act on your cancellation or the refund doesn’t come, start with the company’s grievance redressal officer. Contact details appear on the SBI General website and in your policy document.

If the insurer hasn’t resolved the complaint within 30 days, you can file with the Insurance Ombudsman. The window to approach the Ombudsman is one year from the date of the insurer’s response or from the end of that 30-day period, whichever comes first. Complaints can be filed online at cioins.co.in.⁷ Attach the policy, your correspondence with SBI General, and either the insurer’s response or evidence that there wasn’t one. You cannot use this route if you’ve already taken the same complaint to a court or arbitrator.

1
SBI General Insurance. SBI General Insurance Cancellation and Refund
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SBI General Insurance Company Limited. SBI General Insurance Policy Document
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IRDAI. Master Circular on Protection of Policyholders Interests 2024
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SBI General Insurance. Vector Borne Disease Cover Group Claim Form
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SBI General Insurance. Mobile App for Car Bike Cyber Travel and Health Insurance
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SBI General Insurance. Event Cancellation Insurance Policy
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Council for Insurance Ombudsmen. Procedure CIO Insurance Ombudsman