Irdai’s Bima Sugam Nearing Completion, Will Make Insurance Industry Operations Fully Online

The insurance sector in India is quietly preparing for a digital transformation that could change the way policies are sold and serviced. If all goes as planned, customers will be able to buy, renew as well as port policies and even raise claims, while insurance agents will be able to complete every part of the process—right from issuing a policy to helping in settlement of claims—without a single sheet of paper, thanks to the Bima Sugam platform, which is nearing completion.

Swaminathan S Iyer, Member (Life) at the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai), said at the launch of the Sabse Pehle Life Insurance campaign that the long-awaited Bima Sugam platform is nearing completion.

Described as a digital marketplace, Bima Sugam is expected to allow customers to buy, renew, port, or raise claims for insurance policies through one unified online portal. At the same time, agents and intermediaries—including those working in villages as part of the Bima Vahak network—will be equipped to use the same platform to serve their clients more efficiently.

Unlike traditional models that rely heavily on face-to-face meetings and paperwork, this new system will allow policy sales, updates, and even claims to be handled completely online. The aim, according to Iyer, is not only to improve efficiency, but also to make insurance more accessible, especially in areas where branch offices are few and far between.

The platform is one part of a broader strategy being referred to as the Bima Trinity—a set of three complementary initiatives: Bima Sugam (the digital platform), Bima Vahak (community-level agents), and Bima Vistaar, a soon-to-be-launched bundled insurance product.

Bima Vistaar, Iyer said, is in the final stages of development and will offer comprehensive coverage, combining life, health, accident, and property insurance under a single policy. It is designed to reach households that have traditionally been left out of the insurance net, particularly in rural or low-income areas.  

If executed well, these reforms could help close the protection gap in India and bring a larger share of the population under some form of financial cover. At present, both life and general insurance penetration are low across India.