Explained: Why is Irdai proposing a Public Insurance Registry and what it means for insurance

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) has proposed a Public Insurance Registry (PIR), a digital public infrastructure aimed at making the insurance ecosystem more accessible, transparent, and financially sustainable. 

The regulator has released a consultation paper on the proposed registry and said it could bring technology, governance, and market participation together to strengthen financial resilience and widen access to insurance. 

What is the Public Insurance Registry? 

The PIR is envisaged as a population-scale, interoperable and non-exclusionary digital public infrastructure for the insurance sector. Irdai sees it as more than a central repository of insurance information. The proposed registry is intended to function as an innovation platform and a strategic investment in national economic infrastructure. 

According to the regulator, the PIR could strengthen consumer protection, improve market efficiency, expand insurance coverage, and support the next generation of insurance reforms. 

The proposal is built around three broad goals: facilitating growth and inclusion, building trust and transparency, and promoting affordability and financial sustainability. 

Why does the insurance sector need such a registry? 

According to Irdai, a common digital infrastructure could help address information gaps and fragmentation across the insurance ecosystem. At present, information is spread across insurers, intermediaries, policyholders, and other participants, which can create barriers to efficient decision-making and access. 

A unified and interoperable framework could reduce these information barriers while making insurance processes more seamless and data-driven. 

The regulator also believes that greater availability of reliable information could promote competition. Market participants could increasingly differentiate themselves through product innovation, pricing, service quality and customer experience. 

How could the PIR benefit policyholders? 

For consumers, the proposed infrastructure could make insurance journeys more transparent and efficient while improving access to reliable information. 

Irdai said the consultation paper has been developed using a user-centric approach, taking into account the needs and challenges of different stakeholders across the insurance ecosystem. The objective is to translate those needs into more seamless insurance journeys and better-informed decision-making. The proposed framework could also support more inclusive product design and easier onboarding, particularly for underserved segments of the population. 

What does the industry think about Irdai's proposal? 

Sarbvir Singh, Joint Group CEO, PB Fintech, welcomed the proposal and described it as a significant and forward-looking step for the insurance sector. 

Singh said insurance information has for long remained fragmented and asymmetric, spread across insurers, intermediaries and policyholders without a unified and accessible framework. He said Irdai's three guiding objectives—growth and inclusion, trust and transparency, and affordability and financial sustainability—offer a comprehensive vision for the sector, with a centralised registry potentially serving as an enabler of all three. 

According to Singh, greater transparency could strengthen trust among insurers, intermediaries and policyholders, while reliable and unified data could support more inclusive product development and easier onboarding. He added that greater efficiency across the insurance ecosystem could help contain costs, supporting long-term affordability and market sustainability. 

Who will use the Public Insurance Registry? 

The proposed use cases for the PIR extend across eight categories of stakeholders in the insurance ecosystem. These include insurers, reinsurers, intermediaries, and financial institutions, among others. 

The target is to create an interoperable infrastructure that can serve the needs of different participants while improving the overall efficiency and resilience of the insurance market. 

How will the PIR use India's digital public infrastructure model? 

Irdai has proposed a DPI-based approach in which technology, governance and market mechanisms work together to support the broader objective of achieving wider and deeper financial resilience. 

The proposed framework would also have regulatory guardrails to guide market-based risk pooling and ensure that competitive private-sector innovation works in the public interest. 

The approach draws on India's experience with digital public infrastructure in other sectors. Irdai has cited initiatives such as the JAM Trinity, credit information bureaus, the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), DigiYatra, PM GatiShakti, Government e-Marketplace (GeM) and the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) as examples from which the insurance sector can draw lessons. 

What happens next for the Public Insurance Registry? 

The regulator has invited comments and feedback from stakeholders on the consultation paper. Stakeholders have been asked to submit their responses by September 30. The feedback will help shape the proposed framework and determine how the PIR can balance consumer protection, market efficiency, innovation, affordability, and long-term financial sustainability.