The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has proposed the establishment of a Public Insurance Registry (PIR) as a foundational Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for the country’s insurance sector. Aligned with the objectives of the Sabka Bima Sabki Raksha Act, the PIR is designed to bridge long-standing information gaps, reduce fragmentation, and modernize the entire insurance lifecycle—from policy issuance to claims processing and grievance redressal.
Key Structural Features of the PIR
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Federated Architecture (Decentralized Storage): Unlike a monolithic centralized database containing every detailed consumer record, the PIR functions as an interoperable access layer. Detailed KYC, medical records, and policy documents remain securely with their source institutions, accessed only when triggered.
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Four-Tiered Processing Routes: Data sharing is strictly governed through distinct pathways: statutory requirements, customer-consented access, investigative/supervisory use, and anonymised or aggregated analytics.
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Strict Consent and Privacy Guardrails: Consumer data access is built on strict parameters requiring specific, informed, revocable, and auditable user consent. Commercially sensitive information—such as insurer-specific pricing models, underwriting rules, and product strategies—remains strictly proprietary and hidden from cross-industry views.
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Standardization and Data Integrity: To eliminate inconsistencies in how different insurers record data (e.g., claims, lapses, or surrenders), the PIR introduces common definitions, identifiers, and formats, holding individual insurers accountable for source data quality.
Strategic Implications for Insurers and Policyholders
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For Policyholders: The registry promises a seamless, consolidated view of all active policies on a single dashboard, simplified product comparison, easier tracking of claims and grievances, and a clear path to identifying unclaimed amounts.
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For Insurers: While the PIR offers major advantages—such as enhanced risk assessment, cross-industry risk scoring, better fraud detection, and visibility into the protection gap—it also introduces operational challenges. Insurers can no longer treat data quality as an afterthought, as poor data translates directly into weak underwriting analytics.
Ultimately, the PIR shifts the industry dynamic: competitive advantages will no longer belong solely to the insurer that hoards proprietary data, but to the institution that can best utilize shared, transparent information securely.
