Insurance for All by 2047

What is Insurance for All by 2047?

Insurance for All by 2047 is the long-term goal that IRDAI set for the Indian insurance sector. In its words, the aim is a market "where every citizen has an appropriate life, health and property insurance cover and every enterprise is supported by appropriate insurance solutions", and an Indian insurance sector that is attractive to global capital. The year 2047 marks 100 years of India's independence and links the goal to the government's Viksit Bharat vision.

IRDAI announced the goal in 2022 and has used it since as the stated reason for most of its reforms, from product approval to distribution rules.

Where India starts from

The gap the goal aims to close is large. According to a PIB backgrounder of April 2026, which cites Swiss Re data for 2024 to 25:

Penetration in most developed markets is well above India's level, and protection gaps are widest in rural areas, among informal workers and for MSMEs.

How IRDAI is pursuing the goal

IRDAI framed the work around three groups: policyholders, insurers and distributors. Its 2022 press note listed the levers as the right products for the right customers, effective grievance redressal, ease of doing business, regulation that keeps pace with the market, and more innovation, competition and distribution efficiency, moving towards principle-based regulation.

The main initiatives tied to the goal include:

• Regulatory consolidation. In 2024, IRDAI replaced 34 regulations with six consolidated ones and added two new ones, and moved most product approval to use and file.
• Bima Trinity. The Bima Sugam marketplace, the Bima Vistaar bundled product and the Bima Vahak women-led field force, together called the Bima Trinity.
• More distribution reach. Higher tie-up limits for corporate agents and IMFs from 2022, and a 2026 consultation paper proposing a simpler distribution structure with lower entry costs and extra rewards for sales in small towns and rural areas.
• State focus. Insurers have been allotted states and union territories to lead awareness and coverage drives, and rural obligations are now measured at gram panchayat level.
• Law reform. The Sabka Bima Sabki Raksha (Amendment of Insurance Laws) Act, 2025, whose name echoes the goal, allowed 100% foreign investment and created a Policyholders' Education and Protection Fund.
• Affordability. From 22 September 2025, individual life and health policies were exempted from GST, which had been 18%.

What Insurance for All by 2047 means for distribution

• Reach over ticket size. The goal is measured by how many people and businesses are covered, not by premium alone. Regulatory changes are likely to keep favouring channels that add new customers in under-served places over those that sell larger policies to the already insured.
• Lower cost to serve. IRDAI's September 2026 consultation paper argues that distribution costs have grown faster than premiums and proposes lower expense limits. Channels that cannot serve small-ticket customers cheaply will come under pressure. Digital issuance, assisted selling through local partners and simpler products are the usual answers.
• Protection products get priority. Term, health, personal accident and simple property covers close the protection gap most directly. Expect regulatory nudges, product approvals and awareness campaigns to focus on them.
• Rural and small-town incentives. The 2026 consultation paper proposes rewards above normal commission limits for sales in towns of up to 50,000 people, rural areas and cities of up to 10 lakh. If adopted, this would change where field capacity is worth placing.
• Persistency and claims matter. A customer whose policy lapses or whose claim is refused does not count as covered for long. IRDAI members have spoken in 2026 about meaningful cover, persistency and trust as the next focus.