First phase of Bima Sugam project likely to be rolled out mid-2025

Initially proposed for Jan '23 launch, project missed many deadlines

The first phase of Bima Sugam — an ambitious project of the insurance regulator to create an Amazon-like one-stop digital

platform for buying, selling, and servicing insurance policies — is expected to be rolled out in the mid of this year instead of April announced earlier, a source privy to the development said. 

In June of 2024, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) chairman Debasish Panda had said that the first phase of the project will be launched in April 2025. 

The idea, initially proposed by the insurance regulator in 2022, has missed several projected launch dates, including January 2023, June 2024, August 2024, April 2025. 

Often hailed as the UPI moment for the insurance industry, Bima Sugam is going to be a public digital infrastructure,

keeping the policyholder at the core to offer an end-to-end journey of the lifecycle of the product and beyond. 

The platform’s aim is to democratise insurance in India, potentially becoming the first of its kind globally. 

This single-window digital platform is expected to serve as a comprehensive marketplace where consumers can compare, purchase, and manage insurance policies across life, health, and general insurance sectors. Additionally, it will also benefit distributors as they will be able to complete a transaction at a cheaper price and in less time. 

The capital requirement for Bima Sugam has increased to Rs 500 crore from the previously envisaged Rs 100- Rs 200 crore. Insurance companies will be infusing the initial capital for the project. 

They have expressed a lack of clarity regarding the exact timeline for the launch of Bima Sugam. 

“Insurers do not have enough clarity about Bima Sugam and when it will be launched. With the kind of capital we are putting in, we must at least get some monthly update about the progress of the project. We also have questions coming from our board on the developments of the project,” said the CEO of another private sector insurance firm anonymously. 

Another CEO, speaking anonymously said, the board approvals for funding the project has been taken, but, there isn't much clarity on the progress of the project and what stage it is in. “The only major update we have is that the CEO has been appointed,” he said. 

On November 1, 2024, Prasun Sikdar took charge as the first MD & CEO of Bima Sugam for a period of three years. Additionally, ExecutiveAccess has been hired as the HR consultant for recruiting officials to Bima Sugam. EY is helping the regulator on this project. 

Bima Sugam is a part of the Bima Trinity envisaged by Irdai. The trinity includes Bima Vistaar — a rural focused composite insurance product, to be sold by Bima Vahaak — the women centric agents’ force who will sell this product on the platform

Bima Sugam.