Here is what you should know about the Bima Sugam portal

What is Bima Sugam?

The online platform will provide you with a one-stop destination for all insurance needs, providing services like buying insurance policies, portability facilities, change of insurance agents and settling of claims. It allows buyers to purchase life, motor or health insurance policies directly. Besides, web aggregators (such as PolicyX, PolicyBazaar, etc.), brokers (such as Bajaj Capital, Probus Insurance Broker, etc.), banks and insurance agents will act as facilitators in selling insurance policies. The Bima Sugam platform will provide all these facilities to policyholders with an e-insurance account (E-IA).

Who will own it?

Several insurance companies (both general and life insurers) would become major shareholders of the Bima Sugam platform.

What are its benefits?

The Bima Sugam will leverage the prospect of having a centralised database. It will assist the insured/buyers facing challenges with existing insurers/agents to port their respective policies based on coverage and pricing. Further, it will pave the way for speedy acceptance of new/sandbox products.

The platform will also give buyers a wide choice to pick and choose policies. It will offer a window to view all your policies (be it life or general), details and renewal dates.

The platform will help reduce commissions paid to intermediaries . Hence, you can select the best suitable product at an appropriate premium price.

“Irdai has proposed that an insurer can give a discount on premiums for the policies purchased directly through this platform. The contours of the discounting pattern are yet to be worked out,” said H.O. Suri, managing director and CEO of IFFCO Tokio General Insurance.

How will it work?

The platform will push for end-to-end digitisation of the insurance-selling ecosystem. The selected repositories can help maintain the insurance policies of the policyholder and his family. Policyholders will have their E-Bima or E-insurance accounts wherein they can view their policies and file a claim. “The information links stored in one place will make claim settlement easier for nominees/beneficiaries. Moreover, the portal will help individuals apprehensive about sharing their contact details with aggregator portals to obtain policy premium quotes,” said Suri.

Will policyholders need to create a demat account?

Experts say that, unlike mutual funds, share trading and payment platforms, insurance has more complex products and lacks standardisation in the underlying technology. “Bima Sugam will be a platform where a centralized technology infrastructure will help manage your entire policy,” said Avinash Ramachandran, chief operating officer of Assurekit. He said, “Policyholders don’t need demat accounts. They will have to give consent (through the Aadhaar verification process) to access insurance policies but will not have to create demat accounts like they do for trading and investing.”