New Delhi, Aug 18 (IANS) India’s general insurance industry closed FY26 with gross direct premium income of Rs 3,36,000 crore, up 9 per cent year‑on‑year, a report said on Tuesday.
The report from BCG said Gross Written Premium rose 10 per cent to Rs 3,44,000 crore as private insurers, including standalone health insurers, continued to lead market expansion.
Private insurers saw GDPI growth of 10 per cent versus 8 per cent for public sector insurers. The report said the industry’s underwriting metrics moved through a rebalancing phase as insurers recalibrated pricing and portfolio mix.
“The combined ratio moved 2 points to 113 per cent, profit after tax (PAT) stood at Rs 10,000 crore, down 23 per cent YoY, and industry return on equity settled at 6 per cent, down from 9 per cent a year earlier.
Growth was led by health, where GST rationalization lifted full-year growth to 17 per cent after a slower 10 per cent in the first half, and by Motor, which grew close to 9 per cent even as renewal-heavy portfolios limited full pass-through from the 10.4 per cent rise in auto sales.
Fire and Crop grew more modestly, as insurers leaned into pricing discipline on commercial renewals and calibrated crop discounting to meet Expense of Management (EOM) guidelines. These are the early signs of a market beginning to prioritise sustainable pricing over pure volume, the report noted.
“The Indian general insurance industry continues to grow, and it is entering a more mature phase,” said Pallavi Malani, Managing Director & Partner at Boston Consulting Group and India Lead – Insurance.
“The real story in FY27 is which insurers are successfully converting scale into disciplined, profitable underwriting,” Malani added.
Private insurers demonstrated resilient underwriting throughout the year, holding their combined ratio broadly steady at 109 per cent (a marginal 0.4-point improvement) and their ROE near 9 per cent (down just 56 basis points).
Large private insurers were the standout performers, combining 7 per cent premium growth with a 2–3 point improvement in both loss ratio and combined ratio, and lifting ROE to 15 per cent from 14 per cent, highlighting that scale and underwriting discipline can go hand in hand.
–IANS
pk
