India’s insurance regulator has proposed a new digital framework that could allow policyholders to view information about their insurance policies through a single, integrated platform.
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has proposed the creation of a Public Insurance Registry (PIR) as part of efforts to make the country’s insurance sector more transparent, connected and consumer-friendly. If implemented, the proposed system could bring together information on different types of policies, including life, health and motor insurance, even when they are held with separate insurers.
The PIR is being envisaged as a Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for the insurance sector. Its proposed design draws on the experience of digital infrastructure used in other areas of India, including UPI, DigiLocker, Aadhaar-linked services and Co-WIN. The broader objective is to reduce the fragmentation of insurance information and make it easier for policyholders, insurers and other stakeholders to access and manage relevant data.
A consolidated view of insurance policies
At present, a person may have life insurance with one company, health insurance with another and motor insurance through a different insurer or intermediary. Keeping track of all these policies can therefore become difficult.
Policyholders may have to search through separate documents and accounts to determine whether a policy is active, when the next premium is due, who has been named as the nominee or how much insurance protection they have in total.
Under the proposed PIR, this information could be brought together with the policyholder’s consent. A consolidated view would allow individuals to understand their overall insurance portfolio more easily and keep track of multiple policies without having to manage each one separately.
Helping families locate forgotten policies
One of the potentially significant benefits of the proposed registry concerns insurance policies that family members may not know about.
When a policyholder dies, relatives may not always be aware of every insurance policy held by that person. If they do not have the policy number or details of the insurer, a legitimate claim can remain undiscovered.
Under the proposed framework, once a death claim is processed, information could be reported to the registry with the claimant’s consent. This could help identify other insurance policies held in the deceased policyholder’s name. Relevant insurers could then be alerted about potential claims.
The system could also help families search for unclaimed insurance money using other known information about the policyholder, even when the policy number is unavailable. This could make it easier to identify financial protection that might otherwise remain overlooked.
Repeated KYC requirements could be reduced
Another proposed benefit is the potential reuse of verified Know Your Customer (KYC) information.
Customers purchasing several insurance policies often have to submit similar identity and other personal details to different insurers. Under the proposed PIR framework, verified information could potentially be reused with the policyholder’s consent. This could reduce the need to repeatedly provide the same documents when purchasing another policy from a different insurer.
The framework could also support changes to information such as telephone numbers, email addresses, postal addresses, bank account details and nominee information. However, clear rules would be needed to establish how such changes would apply across different policies and insurers and what level of customer consent would be required.
Comparing insurance products could become easier
The proposed registry could also improve the way consumers compare insurance products.
According to the proposal, products could potentially be compared using common indicators such as coverage, premiums, benefits, exclusions and waiting periods. Presenting information through comparable parameters could help customers understand differences between products before making a decision.
The proposal also considers providing information in the customer’s preferred language. Insurance policies often contain technical terms and detailed conditions, which can make them difficult for ordinary consumers to understand. Presenting key information more clearly and in familiar languages could make it easier for customers to assess whether a product suits their requirements.
A more integrated complaints system
The proposed PIR could also bring changes to insurance grievance management. Customers could potentially use digital channels, including mobile applications and websites, to raise complaints and access services in their preferred language.
Another proposed feature is a ‘Know Your Agent’ facility. Such a system could allow customers to obtain information about an insurance agent or intermediary, including aspects of their service record, customer complaints and service quality.
Greater access to such information could help consumers make more informed decisions when dealing with agents or intermediaries.
Registry is still at the proposal stage
Despite the potential benefits, the Public Insurance Registry has not yet been launched. IRDAI has issued a consultation paper and invited views from stakeholders on the proposed framework.
The consultation process is scheduled to consider submissions received up to 30 September 2026. The regulator will then review the framework before deciding on the next steps.
Several issues will need careful consideration, particularly data security, customer privacy, consumer protection, market efficiency and long-term financial sustainability. Since an insurance registry would involve handling large amounts of sensitive personal and financial information, protecting that data and ensuring that it is accessed only for authorised purposes will be central to the system’s design.
Integrating historical insurance records into a common digital framework could also prove challenging. Different insurers may maintain information in different formats and systems, making standardisation and accurate data matching important parts of any eventual implementation.
If introduced successfully, the PIR could change how insurance information is managed in India. Policyholders could gain a clearer picture of their insurance holdings, families could have a better chance of discovering forgotten policies, and repeated KYC procedures could become less burdensome.
The proposed system could also strengthen the flow of information between customers, insurers and intermediaries. However, its effectiveness will ultimately depend on how the registry is designed, how customer consent is managed and how securely the underlying information is stored and shared.
For now, the Public Insurance Registry remains a proposal under consultation. The final structure and implementation process will depend on stakeholder feedback and the decisions taken by IRDAI after reviewing the consultation responses.
