IRDAI's marketplace · what it covers · what it leaves out
Bima Sugam and Business Insurance
Bima Sugam is the online insurance marketplace being built under IRDAI, where policies from every insurer can be compared, bought and serviced in one place. Its first products are motor, health and term life insurance, and IRDAI's chairman said in September 2026 that it was likely to go live by November. This page explains what that changes for a business, and what it does not.
Key takeaways
- Bima Sugam is run by Bima Sugam India Federation, a not-for-profit company whose shares are held by life, general and health insurers, under IRDAI's oversight.
- It launches in phases. The first products are motor, health and term life insurance, the simplest and most standardised covers.
- Insurers and intermediaries both operate on it, so buying through the platform does not rule out having an advisor.
- Fire, marine, engineering, liability and group employee benefits are not in the first phase. They are priced on an inspection of the risk and a negotiated wording, which is work a comparison screen does not do.
- For a personal motor or term policy the platform will make comparison easier. For a factory's property cover, the questions that decide a claim are still sum insured, disclosure and wording.
What Bima Sugam is
A single digital marketplace for insurance, set up under IRDAI and owned by the insurers through a not-for-profit company, Bima Sugam India Federation. The aim is that a buyer can see policies from every insurer side by side, buy one, keep the policy record, and raise service requests and claims, without going insurer by insurer.
It is being opened in phases rather than all at once. The first phase covers motor, health and term life insurance. The September 2026 date announced earlier moved, and IRDAI's chairman said on 27 September 2026 that the launch was likely by November.
What changes for a business
For the covers in the first phase, a business owner buying a personal health policy, a term policy or insurance for the family car will have a regulator-backed place to compare them. Standard products with standard features compare well on a screen, and that is a real gain for buyers.
Commercial vehicle fleets sit in motor and may follow, but a fleet policy is usually negotiated on the fleet's claims history, its declared values and its add-ons, which is more than a single-vehicle comparison shows.
What it leaves out, and why
Fire and property, marine cargo, engineering, liability and group health or gratuity schemes are not in the first phase. These are not bought off a rate card. An insurer prices a factory, a cargo programme or an employee scheme by looking at the specific risk: the construction and fire protection of the building, the commodity and the route, the age and claims of the workforce.
They also turn on wording. Below fifty crore of value at risk, fire cover is IRDAI's standard product and identical whoever sells it, but the sum insured and the declarations still decide the claim. Above that, the wording itself is negotiated. Neither is something a comparison screen can do for you.
Where an advisor still matters
On a standard personal policy, an advisor's value is mostly at claim time, and you can still name one when you buy. On commercial cover the advice is the product: setting the sum insured on reinstatement value, disclosing the risk correctly, choosing the clauses, and taking it to the insurers that write that line in volume.
Our view of the platform is simple. It makes the easy part of insurance easier, which is good for buyers. The hard part, getting a commercial claim paid in full, is decided long before the claim and is the part we do.
Frequently asked questions
What is Bima Sugam?
An online insurance marketplace set up under IRDAI, where policies from every insurer can be compared, bought and serviced in one place. It is run by Bima Sugam India Federation, a not-for-profit company owned by insurers.
When will Bima Sugam launch?
IRDAI's chairman said on 27 September 2026 that it was likely to launch by November 2026, after an earlier end-September target moved. It opens in phases.
Which insurance products will be on Bima Sugam first?
Motor, health and term life insurance, the most standardised covers. Commercial lines such as fire, marine, engineering and liability are not in the first phase.
Can I buy business insurance on Bima Sugam?
Not in the first phase. Fire, marine, engineering, liability and group employee benefits are priced on the specific risk and a negotiated or standard wording, and are placed with insurers directly or through a broker.
Will brokers and agents still exist after Bima Sugam?
Yes. Intermediaries operate on the platform alongside insurers, and a buyer can still use an advisor. Commercial insurance, which is not in the first phase, continues to be placed as before.
Related: The three-insurer comparison · Fire and burglary insurance · Market share by insurer · Claim settlement ratio by insurer