Rethink insurance delivery to reach rural India: Irdai's Deepak Sood

Deepak Sood says India's digital infrastructure enables universal insurance, but the industry must reinvent distribution models to reach all socio-economic groups

Don't want to miss the best from Business Standard?

As India’s digital infrastructure equips the industry with the tools to make insurance universal, there is a need to rethink the distribution framework to extend coverage beyond metros and urban centres, said Deepak Sood, Member (Non-Life) at the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai).

 

Speaking at the Global Fintech Fest (GFF) 2025, Sood said, “In the last decade, India has built one of the most powerful digital public infrastructures anywhere in the world. The digital backbone gives us all the tools that we need to make insurance truly universal—to take it well beyond the metros, well beyond the urban centres, and to take it to the heart of town. But to do that, we need to rethink distribution.”

 

Traditional channels not enough

 

Sood said the existing institutional structure, which includes agents, brokers, and corporate agents, has served well so far but limits outreach to a familiar customer base.

 

“The traditional system has done well and continues to do well, but with this system, the industry will remain confined to the same set of customers,” he observed.

 

He highlighted that Bima Sugam, the digital insurance marketplace being developed under Irdai’s guidance, is an important step in expanding access. “It will ensure insurance reaches every nook and corner of the country,” he said.

 

AI, trust, and customer understanding

 

Sood noted that artificial intelligence (AI) could help insurers and distributors understand customers better and design tailored, trustworthy solutions.

 

“At a time when AI is capable of providing better insights, what we also need to build is trust—with policyholders, by protecting their interests, and by creating conveniently compelling distribution solutions,” he said.

 

He stressed that the goal should be to deliver advisory and protection for every citizen — rural or urban, across socio-economic and age groups.

 

“Any distribution model that evolves will need to ensure that every customer, regardless of where they live or their income group, gets the best advice,” he added.

 

Distribution network snapshot

 

According to Irdai’s annual report for FY24, there were 854 registered brokers in India as on March 31, 2024. Of these, 683 were active, comprising 609 direct brokers, 70 composite brokers, and four reinsurance brokers.

 

The remaining 171 brokers were classified as inactive during the same period.