On a Thursday in late September 2026, India's insurance regulator IRDAI proposed a fundamental restructuring of how insurance is sold, priced, and distributed across the country — a move that sent markets into immediate convulsion. The consultation paper, titled 'Recalibrating Economics of Insurance Distribution,' reflects a long-building tension between the profitability of digital intermediaries and the regulator's mandate to protect consumers and lower the cost of coverage. In the larger arc of financial reform, this moment asks a familiar question: who bears the cost of access, and who ult