IRDAI Approves ‘Bima Sugam’ Insurance Marketplace Platform: Streamlined Premium Calculation Available

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has approved the establishment of the insurance marketplace platform ‘Bima Sugam.’ Through this, an insurance infrastructure will be created where information about all insurance companies can be found on a single platform.

‘Bima Sugam’ will offer insurance policies for life, health, and general categories. People will be able to compare policy premiums and view the complete range of insurance policies according to their needs and make purchases accordingly.

Renewal, claims settlement, and portability facilities will also be available. ‘Bima Sugam’ will be an e-commerce platform where insurance companies can sell their policies. Along with purchasing insurance policies, users will also have access to services like renewal, claims settlement, and portability. The purpose of ‘Bima Sugam’ is to provide end-to-end digital services to all policyholders in the insurance sector.

IRDAI has announced that this marketplace will enable one-stop solutions for all insurance stakeholders, including customers, policyholders, intermediaries, and agents, encouraging transparency and efficiency in the insurance sector.

No fee will be charged for using the services of ‘Bima Sugam.’ Earlier, the Chairman of IRDAI described ‘Bima Sugam’ as a non-profit organization under the Insurance Act 2013. According to the draft rules released in February, customers will not be charged any fees to use the platform’s services.

Insurance policies will become cheaper through ‘Bima Sugam’ as insurance policies will become more affordable. Currently, insurance web aggregators usually charge a certain commission for selling insurance policies.

According to industry officials, insurance companies will directly sell policies through ‘Bima Sugam,’ which may reduce the commission paid to intermediaries, leading to a reduction in premiums for policyholders.