A customer walks into a bank, receives a call from an adviser or searches for insurance online.

Very quickly, the conversation can become about a policy.

But Vikas Arora, The Insurance Specialist and founder of Money Vikas Financial Services, believes there is a more important question that should come first:

What problem is this policy actually solving for the customer?

That question is becoming increasingly relevant as India’s insurance regulator examines how policies are distributed, how sellers are incentivised and how mis-selling can be reduced.

When Selling Comes Before Suitability

In September 2026, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) released a consultation paper proposing significant changes to insurance distribution.

Among the proposals are product- and channel-specific commission limits, greater transparency around remuneration, restrictions on certain incentive structures and stronger accountability for mis-selling. IRDAI has also proposed linking individual sellers to policies sold and placing information on mis-selling incidents in the public domain.

The regulator has received more than 650 submissions, with stakeholder feedback now open until October 31, 2026.

The proposals are not final regulations yet. But the direction of the discussion raises an important question for customers:

Should insurance be something that is pushed, or something that is chosen because it genuinely fits a need?

The Policy Is Not the Starting Point

For Arora, insurance planning should begin with the person, not the product.

A business owner with large liabilities may require a very different protection structure from someone with the same income but fewer financial responsibilities.

A young parent has different priorities from an entrepreneur approaching succession.

Health history, dependents, loans, existing assets, business obligations and long-term family responsibilities can all change what suitable insurance looks like.

That makes the sequence important.

The conversation should ideally begin with risk, responsibility and need.

Only then should the product enter the discussion.

A policy can have attractive features and still be unsuitable for the person buying it.

Mis-Selling Is Bigger Than the Wrong Product

Mis-selling is often understood simply as selling a “bad” policy.

The problem is more nuanced.

A product may be legitimate and still be inappropriate for a particular customer because the amount, tenure, purpose or structure does not match their financial reality.

That is why suitability matters.

IRDAI’s current proposals seek to strengthen safeguards around insurance distribution while improving transparency and policyholder value. They also propose restrictions on compulsory bundling of insurance with loans and on certain volume-linked incentives for bank and NBFC employees.

For consumers, the larger takeaway should be simple: a recommendation deserves to be understood before it is accepted.

Advice Should Survive the Sale

Arora’s approach at Money Vikas Financial Services is built around need analysis, continuing servicing and support beyond policy issuance.

Because the quality of insurance advice is not tested when the premium is paid.

It is tested when circumstances change, documents are required, a policy needs servicing or a family eventually needs to use the protection that was purchased.

A proposed quote from Arora captures the principle:

“If a policy genuinely fits the customer, the adviser should be able to explain why. Good insurance advice should create clarity, not pressure.”

From Product Push to Purpose-Led Insurance

India needs wider insurance coverage. But increasing the number of policies sold cannot be the only measure of progress.

Better insurance distribution should also mean customers understand what they are buying, why they need it and how the recommendation fits their financial responsibilities.

For Vikas Arora, the future of insurance advice lies in moving from product-first conversations to purpose-first decisions.

Because when the need is clear and the advice is suitable, the policy should not need to be pushed.

It should make sense.