Bima Sugam can widen insurance access, say industry leaders at BFSI Summit

At the Business Standard BFSI Insight Summit 2025, industry leaders said that Bima Sugam can make insurance more accessible, affordable and transparent, helping reach more people across India

The insurance penetration in India remains among the lowest in major economies, but industry leaders believe that Bima Sugam, which is a proposed unified, digital insurance marketplace, could change that by making insurance simpler, transparent, and more accessible.

 

Speaking at a panel discussion titled 'Can Bima Sugam be a Game Changer' during the Business Standard BFSI Insight Summit 2025 on Thursday, industry experts said the platform could replicate the transformational success of UPI in the payments space.

 

Insurance penetration has been absolutely low: Sharad Mathur

 

Sharad Mathur, managing director and CEO of Universal Sompo, said Bima Sugam aims to address India’s persistent insurance gap. 

 

 

“Insurance penetration has been absolutely low in India. So the whole idea of Bima Sugam is to increase it,” he said.

 

Mathur added that the platform would make insurance affordable by shifting from a sales-driven model to one focused on advisory-based distribution.

 

“Bima Sugam will not be a threat to other aggregators. The idea is inclusion of a population which has been left out,” he said.

 

‘Transparency, visibility to define the new ecosystem’

 

Amit Roy, insurance partner at PwC, said the platform will drive transparency and visibility across the sector. “Insurance is a complex and technical product. The distribution community will play a crucial role in supporting Bima Sugam,” he said.

 

Roy also said the industry was at a “tipping moment”, with the cost of running business expected to come down as digital processes improve. According to him, the changing age profile of insurance buyers reflects a positive trend. “India is moving towards reducing that entry age, both on the health and life side. People are entering into health insurance at 37 and 32 years into life insurance,” he said.

 

‘Integration with existing distribution key’

 

Speaking on the importance of integration, Narendra Bharindwal, president of the Insurance Brokers Association of India (IBAI), said that Bima Sugam’s success will depend on how well it connects with the existing distribution network. “The industry and regulators have created a huge distribution architecture. Around 4.5 million are directly or indirectly employed in this industry. We look forward to how they will be integrated with Bima Sugam coming in,” he said.

 

He further said it is important to reach the uninsured population while encouraging those already insured to enhance their coverage. “Insurance is to respond during death, disease, and disaster. Bima Sugam can help make the claim process easy,” he said.

 

‘The UPI moment for insurance’

 

Calling Bima Sugam the “UPI moment for insurance”, Debasish Banerjee of Deloitte said the platform could be a game changer if implemented effectively. “Bima Sugam can be a game changer if it is done right. Focus should be on the rural side, under penetrated segments,” he said.

 

Banerjee added that India’s rapid economic growth offers a unique opportunity to expand financial inclusion. “The way India's GDP is growing, that's unparalleled, and we have not seen that across the world,” he said.

 

He further said that Bima Sugam needs to become a trusted platform in order to increase penetration.