mumbai private insurer hdfc life which has been penalised by the regulator irda for delayed settlements on friday said it clears all claims on time unless there is a nondisclosure of material facts and that in all such cases it pays penal interest to the affected partyhdfc life has a philosophy of paying all claims on time unless and until there is a nondisclosure of material fact or a fraud against the company claimant we have a practice of investigating such claims which involve additional information the company chief executive officer amitabh chaudhary said in a statement herehowever hdfc life pays penal interest for compensating policyholders as specified in the regulations wherever these delays take place he statedthe delay in investigation in cases which were part of the showcause notice by irda was due to noncooperation of the claimants hospitals or other public authorities to provide the requisite information or evidence he saidearlier in the week the regulator had imposed a penalty of rs 5 lakh on hdfc life for delaying settlement of claims and has asked the insurer to streamline its processesthe watchgod had also directed the insurer to put in place within 15 days effective claim settlement procedures and take all such measures that deem fit for both proactive and timely settlement of all types of claimsthe order was issued on a complaint filed with the insurance regulatory and development authority irda in april 2009 for delay in settlement of death claims by hdfc life