Mint BFSI Summit | Bima Sugam: Unlocking the potential of digital insurance
- Bima Sugam is poised to transform India's insurance landscape by addressing trust issues and enhancing digital access, said insurance industry leaders at Mint's BFSI Summit 2025.
Mumbai: With the government-backed digital insurance marketplace Bima Sugam set to debut in a few months, industry leaders expect it will be a game-changer for a crucial sector that’s vastly under-penetrated in India.
At the Mint BFSI Summit and Awards 2025 in Mumbai on Friday, industry executives outlined the transformative potential of Bima Sugam, expecting that it will help both new-age and traditional insurers take their products to the country’s remotest corners.
Bima Sugam will “certainly help increase awareness about digital insurance, which will benefit all insurtech players in the country”, said Rajiv Gupta, president of PB Fintech Ltd, the parent company of online insurance marketplace PolicyBazaar.
Bima Sugam will instill much-needed consumer confidence in online insurance purchases, he said.
Vishal Gupta, chief executive of PhonePe Insurance, echoed Rajiv Gupta’s sentiment, drawing parallels between Bima Sugam and the transformative success of UPI—the widely used unified payments interface that enables real-time bank transfers.
Bima Sugam “can enable the entire ecosystem and expand the insurance market”, Vishal Gupta said, adding that the platform can empower a diverse range of players, from online disruptors to traditional offline agents.
A trust issue
Mayank Bathwal, CEO of Aditya Birla Health Insurance, highlighted Bima Sugam's potential to address the critical issue of trust in the insurance industry.
“As an independent entity, Bima Sugam can play a crucial role in increasing awareness, driving consideration, and facilitating seamless fulfillment for consumers,” he said, adding that the platform’s transparency and trustworthiness would be key towards achieving the government’s ambition of insurance for all by 2047.
Rajiv Gupta of PB Fintech also emphasized the platform’s ability to streamline processes, empower agents, and bring much-needed transparency to the system. “A centralized platform like Bima Sugam will remove the silos and coordination challenges that customers face today, making it easier to file claims and manage policies,” he said.
Vishal Gupta said if Bima Sugam “can enable innovation and reach across various interfaces and geographies, it will be a game-changer”.
Bathwal highlighted the platform’s potential to eliminate information asymmetry and reduce distribution costs, ultimately benefiting consumers. “Bima Sugam can help us create more personalized and efficient offerings, as it will have access to valuable data and consent-based information,” he said.
Reaching rural areas
The discussion at the Mint BFSI Summit also went in-depth on the role of technology in enhancing insurance services.
While Rajiv Gupta of PB Fintech noted that tech-driven efficiencies could lead to more personalized products and better financial literacy, particularly in underserved regions, Vishal Gupta of PhonePe Insurance emphasizing the transformative potential of artificial intelligence in improving distribution, reaching the “missing middle”, and enabling error-free pricing.
The “missing middle” in insurance refers to the population that doesn’t fall in the category of either low-income people covered under various government schemes or those who can afford to buy their own insurance.
On concerns about ensuring Bima Sugam’s accessibility and efficiency for rural customers, Vishal Gupta said digital platforms had already proven their ability to reach tier two and tier three cities, citing PhonePe’s own sales statistics.
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First Published:17 Jan 2025, 09:24 PM IST
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