Bima Sugam to launch with 2-3 products and e-KYC module by year-end

The ambitious insurance platform will feature an e-KYC module followed by two or three insurance products available for purchase, starting with health insurance and then life insurance

In the first phase of Bima Sugam, which is likely to be ready by end of December or early January, the platform will feature an e-KYC module followed by two or three insurance products available for purchase, starting with health insurance followed by life insurance, and gradually moving on to others, according to persons aware of the development.

 

Earlier this month, Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority of India (Irdai) Chairman Ajay Seth launched the Bima Sugam website, which has ambitious plans of empowering citizens by simplifying insurance with a unified, digital identity. However, the platform itself, which is imagined as a single insurance marketplace, is still in the build stage, as per the official site.

 

The launch of Bima Sugam will happen in phased tranches, aligned to regulatory approvals and system readiness. The key milestones to be achieved are sale of a policy, e-KYC, other India Stack Integration, Bima Pehchaan, digital policy access, followed by servicing, claims grievances, ensuring stability, security and industrywide alignment at each step.

 

“All insurance companies are onboard and are expected to go live by December end, supported by workshops conducted on API and infrastructure requirements. The platform's Aadhaar integration also requires setting up an Aadhaar vault, which must pass an audit before going live. There is no minimum number of companies required to go live,” a person familiar with the developments said, on condition of anonymity.

 

The future roadmap of the website includes full systems integration with every insurer for issuances of all types of insurance products, launch of a mobile app, inclusion of group insurance for all segments, ecosystem partnerships, such as hospitals and automobile workshops, and real-time claim, and fraud detection using analytics, the website noted.

 

Bima Sugam, which aspires to be part of India’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), plans to enable seamless, paperless, and trusted access to insurance products and services for users. The platform is intended to serve as a unified insurance marketplace, digital policy repository, an e-KYC and consent utility, and a real-time claims servicing gateway.

 

The platform will empower customers, intermediaries and agents to seamlessly find the right coverage, buy, sell and manage multiple policies, offerings, insurance awareness, education and a frictionless experience.

 

It will also enable both DIY (Do It Yourself) and assisted journeys, allowing efficient claim intimation, and service requests for multiple policies, all through a user-friendly digital interface. Additionally, it will be free of charge for policyholders for all services.

 

In the initial phase, it will be focused on insurance companies with agent onboarding starting gradually. The platform will issue Bima Pehchaan – a digital insurance ID, linked to Aadhaar and mobile number, that enables secure and unified access to all insurance policies across life, general and health categories for a customer.

 

For insurers, the platform will be a common interoperable platform to offer and service products with access to verified and consent-based customer data, cost savings through digitisation and standardisation, while also offering opportunities for innovation and new business models. It will also integrate licensed intermediaries (agents, corporate agents, brokers, web aggregators and all other licensed intermediaries) as key participants.

 

However, it will not be mandatory to purchase insurance through Bima Sugam only, since it will only act as a complement to the existing distribution ecosystem.