The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has extended the deadline for submitting comments on its proposed Public Insurance Registry (PIR) to October 17, 2026, from the earlier deadline of September 30. The regulator said the extension is intended to facilitate wider industry participation, detailed deliberations and submissions from different stakeholder groups.
IRDAI released the consultation paper on the proposed PIR on September 1, 2026. The registry is envisaged as a population-scale Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) designed to improve trust, accessibility and customer value across India’s insurance ecosystem. The proposed system seeks to address the fragmentation of insurance information, including product details, policy records, claims history and servicing information, which are currently distributed across insurers and different distribution channels.
According to IRDAI Chairman Ajay Seth, the PIR could gradually support a shift from a predominantly push-based insurance model, where insurance is sold to customers, towards a complementary model in which customers can more easily discover, compare and purchase insurance products. A common information layer could allow verified information to move securely, subject to appropriate consent and safeguards. This could support areas such as product comparison, suitability assessment, portability, onboarding, policy servicing and claims.
Another potential benefit is reducing repetitive documentation and verification. If appropriate information can be securely accessed and reused with customer consent, insurers and intermediaries may spend less time repeatedly collecting KYC and policy information and more time on advice and servicing. IRDAI has also clarified that the proposed PIR is not intended to eliminate insurance intermediaries.
Data Governance Will Be Critical
The PIR also has important implications for data governance and privacy because it would involve the secure exchange of insurance-related information across multiple participants. IRDAI Chairman Ajay Seth has indicated that proprietary information would be protected through measures including role-based access and tokenisation, with appropriate consent and safeguards.
This makes the consultation particularly relevant for insurers, brokers, agents, technology providers and other ecosystem participants. A common digital information layer could improve interoperability and reduce duplication, but its effectiveness will depend on the quality, accuracy, security and governance of the underlying data.
The extended consultation period gives stakeholders additional time to examine issues including data access, consent, interoperability, customer protection, information security, responsibilities of participating entities and operational implementation. IRDAI is seeking views from the public, policyholders, insurers, intermediaries and other ecosystem stakeholders.
The October 17 deadline is therefore an important milestone, but it does not represent the final implementation of the PIR. The current document remains a consultation proposal, and the final structure and operational requirements will depend on stakeholder feedback and subsequent regulatory decisions.
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