Bima Sugam will bring revolutionary changes in the world of insurance. It will be on a digital platform. All types of insurance companies and their products will be available on this. This platform will also prove helpful in bringing a large section of the population under the ambit of insurance.
Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDAI) has issued draft regulations for Bima Sugam. Bima Sugam will be an electronic insurance market place. This digital platform will be for insurance companies, policyholders and intermediaries. Life, health and general insurance policies can be purchased on this platform. Besides, services like policy servicing, claim settlement and grievance redressal will also be available on it. Customers will not have to pay any fees to use this platform. Opinion has been sought from the people on the draft regulation till March 4.
Will be formed under the Companies Act, 2013
IRDA said that it will be formed under the Companies Act, 2013. This will be a not-for-profit company. Life, general and health insurance companies will have stake in this company. No company will have a controlling stake. Shareholders will have to contribute if needed. IRDA will nominate two members of the board of this company. After regulatory approval, the chairperson and CEO of this company will be appointed. A risk management committee will also be formed.
Preparations have been going on for two years
Work on Bima Sugam has been going on for about two years. The insurance regulator believes that this platform will protect the interests of policyholders. This will help in bringing a large section of the population under the ambit of insurance. With this, insurance products will be easily available. IRDA Chairman had described Bima Sugam as UPI of the insurance industry. This will help in achieving the target of bringing the entire population under insurance coverage by 2047.
This will be the UPI of the insurance industry
IRDA Chairman Debashish Panda had tried to allay the concerns of distributors regarding insurance accessibility in June last year. They were afraid that the arrival of this digital platform would affect their business. He had said that this will not reduce job opportunities but will increase them. This will create a better distribution model.
