India's insurance regulator has proposed creating a Public Insurance Registry (PIR), a digital public infrastructure that would create a common information layer across insurers, intermediaries, reinsurers, financial institutions, government agencies and policyholders. According to the latest consultation paper issued by IRDAI, the registry would allow insurers to access verified cross-industry policy information including credit history and claims data to improve underwriting and pricing. The proposed architecture would use federated data architecture where data can remain with the institution where it was collected, while using common protocols and standards for information access and exchange. As per the consultation paper, the PIR is described as a population-scale, interoperable and non-exclusionary digital public infrastructure intended to support growth and inclusion, build trust and transparency, and promote affordability and financial sustainability in insurance. The registry would enable sharing of standardised details of approved insurance products, consolidated policyholder and policy information such as coverage, status, nominees and claim history. The proposed design operates as an interoperable access layer rather than a single centralised data repository, with underlying data securely residing with original source institutions while providing a verified and consistent single source of truth for authorised participants.
PIR would enable policyholders to view all their policies across insurers including policy status, benefits, premium payments, claims and nominee details. As reported by The Economic Times, the registry would help customers discover unclaimed amounts and make common service requests across multiple insurers. The regulator aims 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. PIR could also provide customers with information on their insurance intermediary or agent, including sales quality, persistency, complaints, mis-selling, disciplinary action and blacklisting. The system would also enable customers to access consent-based access to external data sources such as credit history, weather and health data, and receive centralised notifications for unclaimed benefits or death events. According to the consultation paper, the PIR would enable easier product discovery and comparison, a consolidated view of policies across insurers, reduced documentation, improved servicing and claims experiences, and easier identification of unclaimed amounts. The infrastructure aims to make direct purchase and policy maintenance significantly more cost-efficient for everyday consumers by curtailing paper-heavy verification requirements and reducing onboarding steps.
For insurers, PIR would enable access to anonymized, industry-wide claims and loss data from all insurers. According to the draft proposal, PIR can enable collection, collation, aggregation and analysis of anonymized loss and claim data from all insurers, and provision of actionable anonymized information. The regulator has also proposed an Insurance Risk Score (IRS), a unified, consent-based score synthesizing insurance history from the Insurance Information Bureau, Credit Information Companies and other permitted external data sources as a decision-support input for underwriting. PIR could set up periodic and structured alerts on unusual spikes or concentration of losses across parts of the country, segments and sectors. As per the consultation paper, the framework seeks to address information and interoperability gaps by establishing a consistent and authoritative view of insurance records while allowing appropriate information to remain with relevant source institutions. The proposed registry is structured to deliver operational efficiencies across the entire financial services value chain, with insurers able to leverage the data standard to refine underwriting models, optimise claims servicing, and reduce regulatory reporting burdens. The initiative is expected to increase competition among insurers by enabling better access to trusted information, encouraging companies to compete through new products, competitive pricing, improved services and better customer experiences.
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. As reported by The Economic Times, 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 noted that 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. The infrastructure aims to make direct purchase and policy maintenance significantly more cost-efficient for everyday consumers by curtailing paper-heavy verification requirements and reducing onboarding steps.
For stolen vehicles, PIR could connect with relevant registries to provide asset-recovery signals, helping insurers improve recoveries and reduce losses. According to the proposal, 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. The registry would also enable sharing of customer grievance and resolution records, standardized information on intermediaries and agents, and centralized notifications for unclaimed benefits or death events. The proposed framework provides early-warning supervision mechanisms and granular visibility into nationwide protection gaps, helping state agencies refine social security schemes and public resilience planning.
The consultation paper has been released on Tuesday, 1st September 2026, as part of the objectives of the Sabka Bima Sabki Raksha Act, 2025. The framework adopts a user-centric approach and identifies use cases across eight stakeholder groups: the public, policyholders and prospects; insurers; reinsurers; intermediaries; regulators; financial institutions; government departments and agencies; and researchers and think tanks. The proposed use cases include product comparison, insurer and intermediary verification, policy and claims access, identification of protection gaps, improved underwriting and pricing, standardized exposure and loss information, faster onboarding and servicing, regulatory monitoring, verification of policy ownership and collateral cover, public policy analysis, and access to approved anonymised datasets. The consultation process is open until 30th September 2026 for public and stakeholder comments, with submissions accepted through the designated web portal or email using the prescribed Excel template. As per the consultation paper, the PIR is envisioned not merely as a data repository but as an innovation platform and strategic investment in national economic infrastructure that could strengthen consumer protection, market efficiency and insurance coverage. The regulator has invited comments and suggestions from the public and stakeholders on the proposed framework, covering areas such as its objectives, use cases, data architecture and standards, privacy and consent safeguards, confidentiality, governance, implementation and transition plans. The regulator emphasized that appropriate safeguards will be needed to ensure that greater use of data does not compromise consumer privacy or confidentiality if the initiative moves forward.
