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Mumbai, 8 August 2025 – The Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industry hosted the Insurance Summit 2025 at the Taj Santacruz, Mumbai, under the theme “Viksit Bharat – Catalysing Insurance for a Resilient Future”. The summit brought together prominent figures from the insurance and reinsurance sectors, policymakers, technology leaders, and financial services experts to explore how insurance can drive inclusive growth and contribute to national development.
Delivering the welcome address, Sandeep Khosla, Director General of the Bombay Chamber, reflected on the Chamber’s 189-year legacy as one of India’s oldest industry bodies. He spoke about its role as a trusted bridge between industry and the government, facilitating dialogue, influencing policy, and supporting sectors in navigating emerging opportunities and challenges.
Setting the context, Praveen Vashishta, Member of the BFSI Committee, Bombay Chamber, Former Co-founder of Howden Insurance Brokers India, and Chairman of Howden Asia, set the tone with a Theme Setting Address that examined the evolving dynamics of the sector and the opportunities on the horizon. His remarks provided a compelling context for the discussions that would follow. He emphasised that achieving Viksit Bharat requires insurance penetration to grow at a pace matching the country’s economic ambitions, highlighting the urgency of closing the protection gap across health, agriculture, climate risk, and infrastructure. He spoke about the twin challenge of under-insurance and low awareness, urging a shift from product-centric to customer-centric models, supported by technology and data-led innovation. Stressing that resilience must be built into the very fabric of India’s development, he called for collaborative action among insurers, regulators, technology providers, and government to create scalable, inclusive, and affordable insurance solutions that reach every citizen.
In his Keynote Address, Nilesh Sathe, Former Whole-time Member of IRDAI, reflected on the transformative potential of technology, artificial intelligence, and micro-insurance, and urged the sector to strengthen public-private partnerships in flagship schemes such as PM Jan Arogya Yojana and PM Fasal Bima Yojana. He underscored the need to embrace insurance as a national mission on the path to Viksit Bharat, stressing that climate risk is also a financial risk.
Girija Subramanian, CMD of New India Assurance, shared her vision in a Special Guest Address on Bridging the Protection Gap: Pathways to Inclusion. She emphasised the pressing need to widen access to insurance, noting that nearly half the vehicles on Indian roads remain uninsured, and called for innovative approaches to expand coverage and strengthen resilience.
Gayathri Parthasarathy, India Financial Services Sector Leader and Global Financial Services Technology Leader, PwC India, spoke about the ongoing digital transformation in financial services, highlighting its critical role in building resilience and driving growth.
The event also featured the launch of the PwC Position Paper on Agentic Automation in Insurance, presented by Amit Roy, Partner and Leader – Insurance & Allied Businesses, PwC India, and Mahesh Parab, Partner – Agentic Automation, PwC India. They outlined how autonomous AI agents are transforming operational efficiency, customer engagement, and risk management.
The day progressed with three engaging panel discussions. The first, moderated by Amit Roy, explored the opportunities and implications of the proposed amendments to the Insurance Bill 2025, with contributions from Girija Subramanian, Alok Rungta, MD & CEO of Generali Central Life Insurance and Shanai Ghosh, MD & CEO of Zuno General Insurance. The second panel, led by Praveen Vashishta, examined how the industry can become more customer-centric, featuring insights from Dr. Sandeep Dadia, CEO & Country Head, Asia Board Member, Lockton, India; S. K. Rustagi, CEO of Beacon Insurance Brokers Pvt. Ltd.; and Gaurav Dubey, Founder & CEO of Livlong 365. The third discussion, chaired by Vivek Belgavi, Partner – Financial Services Advisory Leader, PwC India, focused on tech-driven innovation, inclusion, and trust, with perspectives from Sandeep Kedia, CFO of Aditya Birla Health Insurance; Suhail Ghai, Chief Digital Officer & Head of Customer Operations, Axis Max Life; Gaurav Sharma, Deputy General Manager at New India Assurance; and Jitender Bahri, Head of P&C Solutions Operations at Swiss Re.
The summit was supported by Knowledge Partner PwC, Media Partner Business Standard, and sponsors including New India Assurance as Title Sponsor, Premium Sponsors Lockton and Axis Max Life Insurance, and Co-Sponsors Livlong 365, Beacon Insurance Brokers, and Aditya Birla Health Insurance.
The event concluded with a Vote of Thanks by Sandeep Khosla.
