Business

IRDAI plans one-stop registry for insurance

By Sohail Khan 1 September 2026, 12:51 pm

Benchmarks
Nifty24,114.0033.6

Precious Metal
Gold (MCX) (Rs/10g.)154,259.00-201.0

Enter search text:

Business News›Industry›Banking/Finance›Insure›IRDAI pitches public insurance registry to reshape industry

Read Today's Paper

IRDAI pitches public insurance registry to reshape industry
Synopsis

India's insurance regulator is proposing a Public Insurance Registry for data sharing. This digital infrastructure will connect insurers, intermediaries, and policyholders for better underwriting. Policyholders can view all their policies and make common service requests easily. Insurers will gain access to anonymized industry-wide claims data for analysis. The registry aims to improve transparency and facilitate informed, low-cost insurance purchases.

IRDAI bars Niva Bupa from opening new business locations for 6 months over expense limit breach — India's insurance regulator is proposing a Public Insurance Registry for data sharing. This digital infrastructure will connect insurers, intermediaries, and policyholders for better underwriting.

Mumbai: IRDAI has proposed creating a Public Insurance Registry (PIR), a digital public infrastructure for insurance that would create a common information layer across insurers, intermediaries, reinsurers, financial institutions, government agencies and policyholders. The registry would allow insurers to access verified cross-industry policy like credit history and claims information to improve underwriting and pricing.

In a consultation paper issued earlier today, the regulator proposed a federated data architecture under which data can remain with the institution where it was collected. PIR would use common protocols and standards to allow information to be accessed and exchanged for specified purposes.

Also Read: IRDAI chairman wants affordable insurance for all

Across all lines of insurance, PIR would enable sharing of data including standardised details of approved insurance products, consolidated policyholder and policy information such as coverage, status, nominees and claim history. It would also enable sharing of customer grievance and resolution records, standardised information on intermediaries and agents, consent-based access to external data sources such as credit history, weather and health data, regulatory and supervisory information, and centralised notifications for unclaimed benefits or death events.

Policyholders would be able to see their policies across insurers, including policy status, benefits, premium payments, claims and nominee details. It could also help customers discover unclaimed amounts and make common service requests across multiple insurers.

The regulator wants PIR to enable product comparison, suitability assessment and a digital purchase journey, shifting customers towards informed, low-cost purchases rather than intermediary-assisted, high-cost sales.

It also looks to improve transparency across distributors. PIR could enable customers to “know” their insurance intermediary or agent and access information on sales quality, persistency, complaints, mis-selling, disciplinary action and blacklisting.

For insurers, one of the proposed uses is access to anonymised, industry-wide claims and loss data.

“PIR can enable collection, collation, aggregation and analysis of anonymized loss and claim data from all insurers, and provision of actionable anonymized information,” the draft said.

Also Read: IRDAI may ease norms for insurance cos to invest more in REITs, InvITs

PIR could also set up periodic and structured alerts on unusual spikes or concentration of losses and claims across parts of the country, segments and sectors.

The regulator has also proposed that PIR may enable an Insurance Risk Score (IRS), a unified, consent-based score synthesising insurance history from the Insurance Information Bureau, Credit Information Companies and other permitted external data sources as a decision-support input for underwriting.

For motor insurance, PIR could provide data from the Electronic Detailed Accident Report (e-DAR) and enable aggregate analytics on settlement patterns and timelines across Motor Accident Claims Tribunals and Lok Adalats. The paper notes that insurers maintain large reserves for claims pending before MACTs and courts, while timely out-of-court settlements could be more efficient for insurers and claimants.

In life insurance, the regulator said high-value claims can sometimes be delayed because insurers lack a cross-insurer view of similar policies and prior claim outcomes. PIR could provide access to relevant cross-insurer policy and claim information, helping reduce investigation efforts and improve claim settlement efficiency.

For stolen vehicles, insurers often lose track of vehicles after settling claims because they have no simple way to know whether police or transport authorities have recovered them. PIR could connect with relevant registries to provide asset-recovery signals, helping insurers improve recoveries and reduce losses.

Add as a Reliable and Trusted News Source
Add Now!

(You can now subscribe to our WhatsApp channel)

(Catch all the Business News, Breaking News and Latest News Updates on The .)

…moreless

(You can now subscribe to our WhatsApp channel)

Read More News on
Public Insurance RegistryIRDAIinsurance industrydigital insurance infrastructurepolicyholder rights

(Catch all the Business News, Breaking News and Latest News Updates on The .)

…moreless

Enter search text:

Continue reading with one of these options:
Limited Access
Free
Login to get access to some exclusive stories

& personalised newsletters
Login Now

Unlimited Access
Starting @ Rs120/month
Get access to exclusive stories, expert opinions &

in-depth stock reports
Subscribe Now

Unlock Access to All Exclusives with ETPrime FREE TRIAL

15 Days Free: Unlock All ETPrime Exclusives, Market Tools & ePapers

Trial offer expiring in00 : 05 : 00

I'd rather pay ₹2599 now

Uh-oh! This is an exclusive story available for selected readers only.

Worry not. You’re just a step away.

Prime Account Detected!

It seems like you're already an ETPrime member with

Log out of your current logged-in account and log in again using your ET Prime credentials to enjoy all member benefits.

Unlock ETPrime's Exclusive Stories Today!

Subscribe to gain powerful insights on business, stock market and industry trends.

Big Price Drop! Flat 40% Off

Student Only Offer

Already a Member? Sign In now

Already a Member? Sign In now
Already a Member? Sign In now

Offer Exclusively For You

Save up to Rs. 700/-

ON ET PRIME MEMBERSHIP

Avail Offer

Offer Exclusively For You

Get 1 Year Free

With 1 and 2-Year ET prime membership

Avail Offer

Offer Exclusively For You

Get 1 Year Free

With 1 and 2-Year ET prime membership

Avail Offer

Offer Exclusively For You

Get Flat 40% Off

Then ₹ 1749 for 1 year

Avail Offer

Offer Exclusively For You

ET Prime at ₹ 49 for 1 month

Then ₹ 1749 for 1 year

Avail Offer

Special Offer

Get flat 40% off on ETPrime

Avail Offer
Avail Offer

Claim NowAlready a Member? Sign In now

Need Assistance?

Connect with an ETPrime expert for personalized support and guidance

+91 9484700004

' + h3 + '

' + h4 + '

' + listing + '

What’s Included with

ETPrime Membership

1Exclusive Insights That Matter

Uncover the truth with our investigative stories

Make strategic moves using the real-world case studies

Read industry-specific stories to identify emerging trends

Spot opportunities with in-depth insights that matter

Trump temper on H-1B visas is forcing Indians to do these things to stay put in US

What Adani’s US indictment means for India Inc’s overseas fundraising
Why veterans like Reliance, L&T are on acquisition spree? Aswath Damodaran has an answer.

Will China’s dollar bond sale in Saudi Arabia trump the US in financial world?
Huawei launches its own OS to compete with Google and Apple. But can it win beyond China?

The problem with lab grown diamonds
Why a falling rupee is a better option for the economy

A list of top 20 momentum stocks that have delivered massive returns in one year