Insurance e-marketplace Bima Sugam is set to go live in December. Narayanan V explains how India’s pioneering digital public infrastructure for insurance will simplify the policy purchase, renewal, and claims process and help deepen insurance penetration in the country.
l What’s the latest buzz around Bima Sugam?
Nearly three years after the idea was first proposed, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) has taken the first concrete step towards launching Bima Sugam, touted to become the world’s largest online marketplace for insurance products and services. Last week, Irdai chairman Ajay Seth unveiled the website of the Bima Sugam India Federation (BSIF), the not-for-profit entity established to drive the marketplace. This marks the start of Bima Sugam’s journey.
Envisioned as a single digital hub, the online platform will enable customers to compare, purchase, and manage insurance policies with ease. For the regulator, it is the cornerstone of its initiative to expand insurance access and realise the government’s goal of ‘Insurance for All by 2047’. As Rakesh Joshi, chairperson of BSIF, noted, “With this website, we take the first visible step towards building an inclusive, seamless, and technology-driven insurance ecosystem for the country.”
l Why is it taking so much time?
The idea of an Amazon-like marketplace for buying and servicing insurance was first proposed in 2022 by former Irdai chairman Debasish Panda as part of the regulator’s “Insurance for All by 2047” vision. Along with Bima Vistaar—a composite insurance product—and Bima Vahaak—a women-led distribution initiative—the three initiatives form the “Bima Trinity.” The Bima Sugam platform was initially scheduled for rollout in 2023-24. However, its scale and complexity led to delays. Creating a common marketplace required coordination among multiple stakeholders, including life, health, and general insurers, intermediaries, technology providers, and regulators. Leadership transitions, legal fine-tuning, and the need for phased implementation added to the delays. Now, under Irdai chairman Ajay Seth, the initiative has been revived with renewed momentum.
l Why is a unified marketplace needed?
Bima Sugam is designed as an “Amazon-like” marketplace for insurance—bringing transparency, choice, and simplicity to a sector often viewed as complicated. Today, buyers rely on agents, brokers, or multiple portals to compare products, which often leads to inconsistent pricing. Also, they push products based on commissions. Private marketplaces such as Policybazaar or InsuranceDekho help customers compare and purchase policies, but they do not address the critical aspects of claims settlement and post-sale services—areas that remain major pain points for consumers. On Bima Sugam, customers will be able to compare and purchase life, health, and motor covers in one place, while also handling renewals, claims, and grievances. The platform will have the full spectrum of products—life (term plans, savings, annuities, pensions, ULIPs), health (medical and wellness covers), and motor (third-party and own-damage). Policy documents will be securely stored in a single repository. That’s why insurers see this as an “UPI moment,” for the industry.
l How it will help insurers & brokers
For insurers, , BIMA Sugam creates a direct digital bridge to customers, cutting distribution costs and widening access at a time when penetration remains abysmally low. India’s insurance premium penetration slipped for the second straight year to 3.7% of GDP in FY24, compared with the global average of 7%. Of this, life insurance contributed 2.8%, while
non-life—motor, health, and fire—accounted for just 0.9%. A digital public infrastructure like Bima Sugam is seen as essential to deepen penetration, by reaching out to first-time buyers especially in tier-2 and tier-3 towns. It will also streamline processes for insurers through standardised onboarding, e-KYC, servicing, and claims. For intermediaries such as agents and brokers, it is not a replacement but an enabler—allowing agents to manage sales and client portfolios digitally, while giving brokers the ability to compare products across insurers in real time.
l When will the platform go live?
The actual market place where customers can search, compare, and purchase policies is expected to go live in December 2025. BSIF has clarified that the rollout of the platform’s features will follow a phased approach. Initially, the website will serve as an information and guidance hub, while full-fledged transactions will be enabled over the coming months as insurers and ecosystem partners complete necessary integrations. This approach will also give the insurance ecosystem adequate time to adapt to the new system. The first stage may include limited product categories and services such as e-KYC, select policies, and basic servicing. Over time, the portal will expand to cover all life, health, and general insurance products including motor, travel, property, and agricultural policies, along with claims management, renewals, portability, and grievance redressal—creating a fully functional digital ecosystem. Bima Sugam will also charge minimal fees.