Bima Sugam
Bima Sugam is an IRDAI-proposed digital marketplace for insurance in India, envisioned as a unified electronic platform where customers can browse, compare, purchase, and service all types of insurance policies from multiple insurers through a single interface.
IRDAI proposed Bima Sugam as part of its broader Vision 2047 reforms, drawing parallels with the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) in the retail sector and the Account Aggregator framework in financial services. The platform was conceptualised to democratise insurance distribution, reduce mis-selling, lower customer acquisition costs, and create a portable, interoperable policy repository.
The core features envisioned for Bima Sugam include: a policy repository where all insurance policies issued to a customer (across insurers and product categories) are stored in digital form and accessible through a single dashboard; a marketplace layer where insurers list products and customers compare features and premiums; a distribution layer where IRDAI-registered insurance intermediaries (agents, brokers, bancassurance partners) and direct customer access co-exist; and a servicing layer enabling premium payment, claim submission, and policy servicing without visiting branch offices or relying on intermediaries.
A key design intent is portability: a customer should be able to take their policy history and No-Claim Bonus from one insurer to another through Bima Sugam, removing the friction that historically locked customers into existing relationships. This feature, if implemented fully, would intensify price competition among general and health insurers.
Insurers and intermediaries expressed mixed views during consultation. Larger established insurers with strong proprietary distribution networks saw potential disintermediation risk. Insurance agents — a constituency of several million individuals — raised concerns about commission disruption. IRDAI's position was that the platform would expand the overall market rather than merely redistribute existing business, and that agents registered on the platform would reach more customers at lower cost.
As of early 2025, Bima Sugam's full implementation remained in progress. A special purpose vehicle (SPV) with shareholding by insurers and intermediary bodies was being structured. Regulatory approvals, technology architecture finalisation, and stakeholder buy-in were the key bottlenecks. The platform represented one of the most structurally significant changes proposed for Indian insurance since liberalisation.